Creativity is everywhere. I can see it in the smallest things. In everyday situations like children playing or passers-by on the street. It is to be discovered in nature and even in the most dull places. Everyone has some creativity deep inside, but we just have to open our mind and soul to it. Creativity is a game… from which new creations can arise every time.

I’m Frederik Knapen and I try to turn creativity into creation on a daily basis. In my atelier in Hasselt I try to translate my feelings and thoughts into art. I truly need some color in my life and luckily I can fully express this through my paintbrush.

In addition to my busy life as an entrepreneur, the act of painting brings me immeasurable peace. The beautiful serenity I experience when I travel to nature areas and look at a landscape; that’s the calming feeling I recognize when I paint. Something inside us is always telling a story. I try to listen to it and try to transfer this story onto the canvas.

I use acrylic paint. Mostly I turn to abstract creations with sometimes recognizable elements. My greatest inspiration are the paintings of Martin Ademola Oluwadiran. The use of African colors and tones can also be found in my artwork. Martin is a Nigerian artist living in Belgium. He organizes fascinating workshops in which I have often participated.

Before I start a painting I first make a color palette. Mostly I choose hard intense or soft pastel colors. A basic color in all my paintings is Prussian blue. When you have a blank canvas in front of you there are so many possibilities. Just like in everyday life. I get inspired through the process and listen to the stories that live deep inside. The outcome is always a surprise, and gradually emerges from the feeling I have at that moment.

I want my paintings to move people, to bring out a deeper feeling in the viewer.