Harry van der Aart - Dry Needle, Title, Machu Picchu.

Teacher of Graphic Techniques and Painting at the Free Academy ZOM in Kerkrade. In my work, besides painting, I use various graphic techniques such as etching, woodcut, silkscreen, collage and digital graphics. I combine these techniques within my graphic prints. The work is generally abstract with here and there some recognizable figurative elements. IMAGES NEST IN MY HEAD Images that I use as inspiration when photographing, painting or etching include: Photographs of landscapes, rough brushstrokes, blobs of ink, deeply scratched lines, rotten fruit, or images of violence. These are ideas that I use in my art, they come together as landscapes of the mind It is these images that I process in my digital graphics. Layer by layer the print is created searching for the right color and composition that can tell my stories. The impact of travel experiences in Harry's work is clear. Inspired by the hilly landscape and the impressive mountain peaks, he reduced them to abstract figures in his etchings and paintings. “A stay in South America brought to light confrontations with violence that remained as scars in the memory.” In addition to traveling in South and Central America, Harry also traveled through Eastern Europe and Asia. This is reflected in his work. In some etchings we see sketches of portraits alternating with brushstrokes reminiscent of oriental manuscripts, and in others they are abstract forms supplemented with letters or blast text. In the paintings we see brushstrokes and colorful shapes that cover each other in transparent layer upon layer. A journey through memories and emotions disturbed and overshadowed by strokes of glittering paint. Intense and profound. In addition to graphic works such as etchings and silkscreens, Harry also makes digital graphic works. The inspiration comes from photos he takes during various trips in different countries.