‘The lighting on a building, the atmosphere of an everyday street, but also the ocean or a polder ditch can touch me in a way that I have to paint it.’
Robert Vortman (Amsterdam, 1975) is an autodidact and is a painter to the core. He lives and works in Amsterdam.
Vorstman paints a lot to nature and mostly finds his subjects in his direct environment. He searches for surprising sights in the everyday life in which simple beauty is hidden. He knows how to capture everything that he sees with an impressionistic touch while limiting himself to the essence of the subject. He shows everyday scenes without being devious. Weither it’s about a dog having fun in the water, interiors in fresh sunlight, people around him, harbour or beach sights; Vorstman knows how to show his excitement for the subject to the spectator. He knows how to bring his painting to life with colors and lighting while using limited resources. He makes his sketches outside, on the spot of the places that speak to him, and then he will continue developing the painting in his atelier. The underground, sometimes provided with a monochrome color, not rarely stays unpainted. Because of these empty parts in the painting the attention of the spectator gets drawn to the scenic pencil strokes, that become to life as abstractions while at the same time they suggest the figuration and the lighting.