Artospective: Artwork by Nel Ten Wolde from Australia.

Camino de Flores Collage.

An Interview with Nel Ten Wolde.

Who and where are you from?

I was born in The Netherlands where I did my degree in Fine Art in Amsterdam on the Gerrit Rietveld academie. In 1985, I emigrated to Australia where I have continued my professional career as artist from my private atelier in Melbourne, Australia.

How you got into this?

After finishing secondary education I attended an Academie specialised in Creative arts where we were encouraged to explore the different disciplines of "Art". Following this I was selected to attend the prestigious Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy to further pursue my interest in the medium. This was the beginning of my love affair with painting and mixed mediums.

What is your driving force?

One of the driving forces of inspiration for my work is the contrast between the feeling of freedom in nature and the energy of busy city life, both historical and modern. I am fascinated by the ancient history of cities I travel to, where I effectively re-live and experience the lives and paths that pilgrims once took thousands of years ago and how this still permeates modern life today. There is an abundant amount of things to see and discover.

You can see the influence of this inspiration from my journeys through Australia, Europe and South America in the paintings I create. I begin with making paintings of the landscape in collage form, often combining/contrasting the architecture and landscape in one painting. I have a great passion for the desert and other baron landscapes because of the rich colours, unusual shapes and great feeling of openness.

What kind of work you do and why?

Each year I travel to Europe where I am selected to participate in an artist in residence program. This experience is unique as it allows me to work and collaborate with other artists from all over the world in a communal environment. The type of work I produce there is usually collages on paper with photo and mixed medium. The level of intricate detail in these works really acts as an escape, as I completely immerse myself in the creative element of the process.