Iris van Dommele
Hi there! I'm Iris, an artist and illustrator based in Groningen, the Netherlands.
I like to paint landscapes, plants, people, or other things that interest me, and I'm mostly drawn to gouache as a medium, although I think I will always like to keep experimenting with new subject matters or new mediums. But one thing that you'll probably see in all my work are bright and vivid colors. Colors are so powerful in expressing atmosphere, emotion. I try to recreate things that make me happy: pink sunset clouds, bright green grass fields, trees in autumn; I could stare at them for hours. The colors of the worlds are so beautiful and this is what I try to capture in my art.
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For as long as I can remember, I have always loved drawing, painting, and creating things. It was pretty much my favorite pastime as a child and always my number one hobby. I considered going to art school, but chose my love for language instead, because language has always interested me and I've always had a fondness for English.
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While I never completely stopped drawing and painting, it did disappear to the background a bit and there were long periods of time during which I wouldn't create anything. It took a global pandemic to make me realize that I wanted to do more with my creativity than I had until that point. I started painting again, perhaps even more than I had ever done before, discovered new subjects (landscapes) and a new medium which I now love (gouache). And I realized that I love being creative for 'work'.
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I currently work as a parttime Academic English teacher and I spend the rest of my time working as an illustrator and artist. I hope that both through my work as a teacher and through my art, I am spreading some joy through this world.
