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Dick de Vries, Artist
“Assuming one is not mad, a man can be cured of any foolishness but vanity.” This quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau especially appeals to artist and restorer Dick de Vries of Balk. Since he began painting, De Vries has had the good fortune of being able to earn his living from it, though he claims he could live without all the publicity. “I need publicity to sell my work,” he admits. “If you want to be able to make a living out of doing art, you simply need to make concessions.”
As you enter his Vriesart Gallery on Van Swinderenstraat, housed in a lovely canalside house from the year 1789,
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you immediately notice a collection of small panels showing romantic scenes with typical Frisian landscapes and ships. His work sells like hotcakes. De Vries’ creative expression is appreciated not only in The Netherlands, but also abroad. “I paint what a lot of people enjoy looking at.”
Self-taught
De Vries mastered the art of drawing and painting without any formal training. In the more than thirty years of his painting career, he has experimented with a variety of styles, including surrealism. But his choice of medium - oils - has remained the same.
Nowadays, De Vries paints primarily romantic, highly realistic landscapes. Natural elements from the Dutch landscape play an important role in his work; as do picturesque townscapes, ice scenes and portraits. He also began painting seascapes a few years ago.
Shipbuilder
When touring the gallery, attentive visitors will notice that De Vries, who was originally trained as a shipbuilder, has a special fondness for water sports. Impressive paintings of boats frozen in action hang in several places. De Vries uses photographs when making these particular paintings. “I want to be certain that every detail of the painting is accurate and that every crewmember is in the right spot,” the artist explains.
De Vries also restores paintings. “Restoring is pleasant work because the work’s already finished; I only need to preserve it. And because the painting isn’t mine, people can’t criticise it.”
Princess Máxima
One of his more recent works is a lovely painting of Máxima Zorreguieta, wife of crown prince Willem Alexander of the House of Orange Nassau. Máxima’s father can be seen in the background painted the colour ‘blush’. The painting shows the unbreakable father-daughter bond and is a good example of his most recent passion, painting portraits of public figures.
The reason he chose Máxima has nothing to do with being an Orangeist, he claims. The commotion surrounding the wedding (between Máxima and Willem Alexander) was the driving force behind the portrait. “I’m not contesting Jorge Zorreguieta’s guilt. That’s why I chose the blush-coloured background. But barring him from his daughter’s wedding because of his past was just not right,” De Vries explains. “He’s still her daddy.”
Celebrities
All the celebrities De Vries has painted have touched him in one way or another, though not necessarily in a positive way. He tries to capture characteristic traits when painting. Scepticism and arrogance is what struck De Vries most about Theo van Gogh, TV host and writer, for example. He adds a personal touch to a portrait of Van Gogh by placing him in the corner of the canvas.
