ABOUT ME
As long as I can remember, I have drawn and painted. After working in communication and event management for many years, I decided in 2018 to take painting seriously and began studying traditional, realistic painting at the Classical Academy of Fine Arts in Groningen.
But my own way of painting had always been much looser and more instinctive. Over time, I found my way back to that freedom, using colour, layers and bold brushstrokes rather than trying to reproduce exactly what I see.
What keeps drawing me to flowers and nature is simple: beauty. There is so much of it around us, and our time to notice it is limited.
Someone once said to me, “But you only paint beautiful things.” That’s probably true. There are other stories to tell, but they are not mine to paint.
My curriculum vitae can be found below.
For a long time, I thought becoming a better painter meant gaining more control. Now I think almost the opposite.
The more I trust my instincts, play and allow things to happen on the canvas, the more the work feels like mine. That freedom is what I look for every time I paint.
HOW I WORK
Today, flowers and nature are usually my starting point. I often begin in acrylics and continue in oils, allowing each painting to develop as I work. But I have always loved working with different materials. I started painting in watercolour as a child and still do, alongside gouache, pastel and drawing.
People often ask me which medium I prefer, but I have never really wanted to choose. For me, the material is less important than following my instinct, enjoying the process and making something beautiful.
Alongside my own work, I organise painting retreats in Spain. Here, I encourage others to discover their own way of painting too. Not by trying to get everything right, but by experimenting, trusting their instincts and enjoying what happens along the way.
Interested in a specific painting or would you like more information? Please feel free to contact me.
Discover my paintings and find a piece that speaks to you.
You can also find me on:
WHEN A PAINTING FINDS A HOME
One of the nicest parts of being an artist is seeing where a painting eventually ends up. Every painting is personal to me. I remember the colours, the layers and the brushstrokes, and when I see one hanging in someone else’s home, it still feels a little like a part of me is there too.
I love hearing why someone chose a particular work. Sometimes it is immediate. A woman saw one of my magnolia paintings at an art fair and knew straight away that she wanted it in her living room. Another couple chose an autumn coloured painting in Amsterdam, because the colours and abstraction worked so beautifully in their home.
One of my most colourful paintings was bought by someone who had never even seen it in real life. She spotted it in a photograph on Linkedin I posted before an art fair, showed it to her husband and they decided almost immediately that it was theirs.
And sometimes I hear from someone years later that they still look at their painting every day with just as much pleasure. I think that may be the loveliest thing someone can tell me about my work.
CV
2007 – present
Artist, Merel Feenstra Art
Intuitive, layered floral paintings inspired by flowers and nature
merelfeenstra.com
2024 – present
Founder & Host, Painting Retreats Spain
schildervakantiespanje.nl
2008 – present
Independent Event Manager
interim-eventmanager.nl
2022
Graduated Classical Academy of Fine Arts (Groningen) – vocational training
2020 – 2024
Painting workshops and hand-painted vases, Studio Merel Feenstra, Asperen and Geldermalsen
2018 – 2022
Classical Academy of Fine Arts, Groningen – vocational training
Lectures by Paul Boswijk, Riny Bus, Elvira Dik, Xandra Donders, Sam Drukker, Tom Hageman, Keimpe van der Kooi, Mitzy Renooy, Piet Sebens and Svetlana Tartakovska
2018 – 2020
Painting workshops at de Kunststudio, Blaricum and plein-air painting weekends in Frederiksoord, Drenthe
2017
Gooise Academy of Fine Arts, Laren
Lectures by Humphrey Bennett
2013
Gooise Academy of Fine Arts, Laren
Lectures by Humphrey Bennett
2006
Gooise Academy of Fine Arts, Laren
Lectures by Humphrey Bennett
2003 – 2008
Various marketing & communication positions
2001 – 2003
Webmaster, TriMM Interactive Media
1997 – 2001
University of Twente, Enschede
Business Information Technology
Applied Communication Science
No degree obtained
1991 – 1997
Gemeentelijk Gymnasium, Hilversum
Graduated in 1997
View my full professional profile on LinkedIn →
EXHIBITIONS & ART FAIRS
2025
Landelijk Atelierweekend, Fall Edition
Visitekaartjes Expositie, Galerie Paterswolde
2023
Landelijk Atelierweekend, Fall Edition
Visitekaartjes Expositie, Galerie Paterswolde
2022
Open Atelierroute West-Betuwe, Studio Merel Feenstra, Asperen
Classical Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition, Roomsterborgh, Leek
2021
Nationale Kunstdagen, Evenementenhal Gorinchem
2020
Annual Dutch Art Fair, Amsterdam
ART Eindhoven
2019
Annual Dutch Art Fair
Atelierroute Blaricum
Solo Exhibition, Hilton Brussels
ART Eindhoven
Opening exhibition, de Kunststudio, Blaricum
2018
Blaricum Raakt Je!, Blaricum
Kunst Battle, Zeewolde
Atelierroute Blaricum
Kunst & Cultuur Markt, De Krachtcentrale, Huizen
Solo Exhibition, Louis Hartlooper Complex, Utrecht
2017
Borrel voor Kunstliefhebbers, Restaurant Bruis, Blaricum