Anita Schipper-Postma

Interview Biker Art Chop, Ride and Party Roadbook Ed.1-2017

When did you start painting?

Anita: I have never really painted until recently.  I remember I once had to draw hands at high school, I hated it, haha. But I do have always been quite CREATIVE. One day I gave my best friend Miranda a workshop oil painting for beginners in Breda. I went with her and we both enjoyed the workshop a lot. Me maybe even a bit more than my friend… Later I started following more lessons in oil painting at De Blauwe Schuit in Hoorn from the year 2010 to 2012. There they taught me all sorts of different technics. I had to do a lot outside my comfort zone which I experienced as very good for me growing as an artist. After that I had many lessons in fine painting by Herman Smorenburg in Alkmaar. I won three times first place with the Work Of Art contest on Facebook. It made me believe in myself and I decided I wanted to go to the Amsterdam Portrait School. It is very hard to be selected for that school but after several interviews they said I was chosen to follow their lessons. Unfortunately I found out I had severe CANCER in the very same week I heard the good news from that school. I felt very, very sick in a matter of weeks so I decided to drop it. Now, I am actually living in borrowed time, I am FEELING GOOD and already lived longer than anyone expected! So the fact that I did not go to the Portrait school I do now experience as a loss.

At which moment did you realize your work was special?

Anita: After I painted an eye in blue-tones on canvas in 2011. Everybody around me and all followers on social media commented very positive.

What are you specialized in as a painter?

Anita: Portraits, realistic portraits. I found out that was my thing after I painted my grandpa. I remember I drove home and had the painting of grandpa in the backseat of the car. It was as if he was really there.  I felt a deep hearted connection with the painting. It had started to live while I was working on it. Very special. That is the strongest reason why I like portraits for instance much more than landscapes.

What are the materials you prefer to work with?

Anita: Oil paint on wood or canvas. Sometimes with and sometimes without other paint under it. I have done some with an acrylic underground which gives the painting a cool dramatic effect. Oil paint is fantastic to work with.  The colors are much richer and more vibrant than then any other paint. And you can go on adding paint and perfecting without having to wait until it dries.

Is painting your hobby or is it your profession?

Anita: I was working as a secretary for most of my life but am not allowed to do that anymore since 2015 because of my illness. Painting gave me a new purpose in life. I can completely lose myself in a painting. Since I started I have done a lot of paintings. First just for family, friends and for myself but since I painted my brother and showed off the result at a stand at the RMC Chopper Show the bikers have kind of discovered me. There apparently are a lot of proud vein men in that specific scene. They like my work and I just had a talk with another biker this week who wanted to pay me to do a portrait of him. So yes, maybe it will become a profession…..

How many times a week do you paint?

Anita: Almost every day, but sometimes I don’t paint for weeks in a row. I only paint when I feel like it and I hate deadlines.

What inspires you as an artist?

Anita: I follow a lot of the trends on Instagram. My big examples are the Dutch grandmasters of days gone by. Rembrandt is the best in my eyes. But someone like the Spanish Goya also did many great paintings. These artists paint people so real you can almost touch them. Recently I discovered the work of Francoise Nielly. Not so famous as Rembrandt but she inspires me to sometimes dare to go off the beaten path.

Why do you like working as a painter?

Anita: I just absolutely love it. It makes me feel good about myself. I like the pads on the shoulder I get from everybody. I feel always proud after finishing a painting and always willing to learn and do better. It gives me a lot of drive. It gives me the positive vibes I need in my situation.

You painted Wicky, the president of the Rogues who happens to be your brother. How was it to paint your own family?

Anita: He was not the first family I painted but Wicky is an interesting person to paint. I also think painting someone close is a bit easier than painting a complete stranger. I like it when my portraits come alive. I love the interaction with the people I paint, in this case my brother. Looking back, the process of painting Wicky was good for some quality time together. I loved his compliments after I finished another part of the painting but also appreciated the critique he had sometimes when certain details could be done better.

What will be your next painting?

Anita: Right now I am painting my three bosses of my former job but when that one is finished I get to do the third biker-portrait I talked about earlier. I am really looking forward to it.

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