Théo

A Dutch illustrator and painter, Theo was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arnhem where he followed a course dedicated to design, painting and art history. Graduated in 1974, he worked as an illustrator, author and designer-presenter of radio and television programmes. At the same time, he gave lessons devoted to the knowledge of fine arts and art history. In 2001, Theo moved to the south of France to set up in the Gard region where he opened his studio. A highly talented prolific designer, Theo has however made an effort to produce more and more paintings since 2010.

Born in a heavily wooded region, Theo has always been inhabited by nature, by which he is heavily influenced. As such, plants, animals and landscapes are the subjects most represented in his early graphic and pictorial work. Since about ten years ago, Theo has developed a more personal work, free from the demands and wishes of customers, where the female figure has taken a preponderant position at the detriment to illustrations of the world and the natural surroundings.

Working mostly with acrylics, the artist paints his canvases spontaneously, preferring to break with his naturalist graphic style that is rigorously true to reality in the representation of the subject. Seduced by the Symbolism and Art Nouveau movements (late 19^th – early 20^th century), Surrealism (20^th century) and mosaics of the Roman era, Theo treats his subject with respect, giving it an iconic and mysterious dimension, always integrated into a daily setting, finely and richly decorated, embellished with relatively warm shades.