Good morning from the Netherlands!

So finally I’ve managed to kick my behind and sit down to write a new blog post. Today I am sharing this watercolor painting that I made 2 weeks ago.

I was listening to music by the Robert Glasper Trio and towards the end of the song there is a recorded phone call where someone’s leaving a message. It’s a man’s voice speaking (Musiq Soulchild) the original writer of the song. He says this song is to remind women how beautiful they actually are, no matter what is going on in the world, and that the only thing that really matters is how you see yourself.

I started this painting with no plan and let myself be guided by the music, when those words were echoing in the background (how you see yourself) I started to ponder on what has shaped how I see myself and who my role models are.

I painted myself with my grandmothers in the background, Marlies (my German grandmom) and Fada (my Jordanian grandmom). I was very close to my German grandmother, but I never met my Jordanian grandmother. I only heard her voice on the phone a few times. I love you, she would say..and so would I.

I wanted to express how I am me, but I am also my lineage.

In the painting I included little elements of Rio de Janeiro , hence the little palm trees and in the top right you can see the ‘Arcos da Lapa’ (the arches of Lapa, that I used to cross with the yellow tram so many times in the 2 months I lived in Rio during 2006)

It’s in Rio that I first started to look for myself, all by myself.

I also listened to ‘Breathe’ by Seinabo Sey whilst painting.

Here she says a little about the song:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BikJEZmHI4g/?taken-by=seinabosey

She’s an artist I truly admire. When I first heard ‘Breathe’ I immediately felt the intention in it, because I lived it. That feeling that people are scared of you because of the way you look.

If you think my painting is awesome and that it would totally fit on your wall, you can now buy a printed version!

Here are the two ways to buy my work:

Saatchi (worldwide shipping)

Werk aan de Muur (Europe only)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Wishing you a great day and see you again soon.

Salam (peace) Isabella