About

Why create this Blog? For some time now two passions kept coming back to my mind that made me feel a need to share them. First and foremost art. Art has become an essential part of my life; secondly the Drôme and in particular the Drôme Provençale where I now live. My enthusiasm for both make me want to link and write about them.

Who am I? Possibly my background explains why art has become so meaningful for me. I was brought up in three countries and in three different languages, English, French and Dutch, to which more than a smattering of Portuguese may also be added. These languages are the foundations on which my identity has been built My professional life working for an international non-governmental organisation, led me to travel extensively and to act as a go-between for people from many countries. From experience I know that bridging cultures is far more difficult than most people imagine but I have also found out that art is a marvellous means of communication that reaches beyond language. We all love and understand Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Monet and Van Gogh. Their language is universal! So although I am tri-lingual I consider the “language of art” to be a form of added value that brings me closer to those who practice it as well as to those who -like me- love it.

I am fortunate to share this passion for art with my wife Anke (whose artist’s name is Anke de Vries) and we both consider the Drôme in some way to be what you might call a natural work of art with a strong aesthetic appeal and the ability to awaken the imagination!