about karin

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Karin is a Netherlands-based, classically trained portrait painter, art historian (MA), and classically trained musician. Her work spans painting, research, writing, and education. At its centre is a simple question: how can we make the invisible visible?

In a world defined by speed and noise, her portraits offer a quiet rebellion. They create spaces for stillness, attention, and human presence.

Karin works with classical Old Master techniques and bold contemporary colour. Her portraits move beyond likeness. They seek to reveal inner life, emotional truth, and untold narratives.

Her practice is grounded in social awareness. She explores identity, belonging, and representation. She affirms unity through diversity.

Alongside human portraiture, Karin paints animals, often those on the edge of extinction. These works explore vulnerability, connection, and our shared responsibility for the world we inhabit.

Across her work, Karin brings together intellectual inquiry, artistic practice, and cultural reflection. She invites viewers to slow down, look more deeply, and reconnect with what it means to be human.

A PRACTICE EVOLVING

Karin has drawn and painted portraits for over twenty years and has created commissioned portraits for more than twelve years. The foundations of her practice were already present in her earliest work.

In 2014, a client wrote about a portrait of her late brother:

“She managed to not only capture my brother’s pictures, but also his personality; she vividly portrayed him, thus bringing back fond memories.”
— M. Hulsbosch, Amsterdam

In 2016, another client wrote about a portrait of her late father:

“She gave me back my father.”
— L. Morrell, London

These words came long before Karin began using the language of “painting the invisible visible”. Yet they describe the heart of her practice.

Over the years, that intuitive approach has developed into a more conscious artistic and intellectual practice. Her portraits continue to look beyond the image. They explore presence, memory, identity, and the qualities that make each person unique.

Over the years, that intuitive approach has developed into a more conscious artistic and intellectual practice. Her portraits continue to look beyond the image. They explore presence, memory, identity, and the qualities that make each person unique.

Recently, Karin returned to daily sketching as a foundational practice. This renewed focus led to the development of The Observational Sketching Method, an after-school course designed to teach young people how to see. It cultivates patience, perception, and embodied attention in contrast to habitual screen-based scrolling.

Her Art Academy offers structured art education for artists seeking to develop their observation, visual intelligence, and artistic practice. Online Arts Education