FAQ's
The FAQ's are divided in 3 categories:
1 Paintings and Materials
2 Shipping and Handling
3 Personal
1 Paintings and Materials
What's acrylics and how come you prefer it?
Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended
in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylics is a high quality paint,
just like oilpaint. It's used by many professional artists.
It's an young paint though, not fully developed untill the 20th
century.
Because of this there aren't any real old acrylic paintings yet,
but in theory it should withstand the ravages of time gloriously.
Some say even better than oil paint, because the paint is really
elastic, similar to rubber. Therefore it doesn't crack easily.
I swear by this high quality paint, because it's appearance
is just perfect for my style. The paint also dries very quick,
within 5 minutes the paint is dry and ready for a new layer of
paint. That way I can work very fast and I'm able to produce
a new painting every other day.
Another advantage of acrylics is that it's soluble in water.
Therefore I don't have to clean my brushes with the poisonous
turpentine. After drying acrylics becomes water-resistant
What's masonite?
The wood I'm using to paint on is called masonite. Many professional
artists use this type of wood. Masonite is a hardboard but it's
been soaked in oil. Therefore masonite is many times stronger
than normal hardboard and it can withstand water.
I prefer masonite above canvas, because of it's smooth surface
and it's doesn't move all the time while painting. Before I start
to paint I first put an underlayer of Gesso on the masonite.
The Gesso attaches itself to the wood and the paint attaches real
well on to the Gesso. The biggest disadvantage of wood is of course
that it lives. It might curve a little sometimes by extreme changes
in temperature. After a while it also straightens out completely,
but it's wise not to hang your painting directly above a stove
or a heater.
What colours do you use?
I use a limited amount of different colours. I usually work with
a cadmium red, phtalo blue, lemon yellow, burnt ombre and a titanium
white. Sometimes I use an yellow ochre too, that's it!
What brushes do you use?
I only use flat brushes in many different sizes, brands and types
of hair. I cannot work with round ones, they always seem to go
to places I don't want them to. I also use my fingers a lot while
painting. My palette by the way is a lit of an old bucket of latex
paint. It's easy to clean, because it's made of plastic.
It's the only thing I want to use and I have this one for years
allready.
How do you set up a painting? Do you use pictures?
I usually take pictures of subjects I wish to paint. These pictures
are just a starting point for the final painting and are only
sketch materials. I prearrange the whole picture in my works of
art using my computer. I choose my own colors and style and I
add elements or are leaving them out. I also pick my own point
of view for my paintings and make my own composition. When I'm
happy about my sketch I pick up my pencil and start drawing the
basic outlines of the subject using my sketch as a reference.
If everything is in place I start painting, building up the painting
in layers of paint untill I'm happy about the results
Where do you find your subjects?
I find my subjects in everyday life. I like to take a walk through
my hometown or places I visit and just take a look around. Bringing
my camera everywhere so I don't forget. You could say I'm an observer
I guess.
Do you have anytime left to paint larger sized paintings?
Of course! Although the daily paintings are time consuming I still
have time left to paint larger sized paintings.
I'm interested in larger sized paintings, where can I find
those?
Well thank you for interest. You can find them on my website www.gerardboersma.nl
Isn't it hard to let a painting go? I mean there are you're
children so to speak.
Well sometimes it is, but most of the time I'm having no trouble
at all selling my work. If you compare it with children, I always
say that children grow up and at a certain point need to get out
of the house and stand on their own 2 feet. Besides I love it
when I can make people happy with my art!
Do you take on commissions?
Yes I do. You can have yourself or your loved ones portraited
starting at just 100,- euro. If you're looking for something
really special, I also offer the possibility to play a role in
a typical setting of me. It looks like a free work but with you
in it!
For more information about commissions, please click on the link
'Commissions' on my blog or just contact me.info@gerardboersma.nl
Why blog paintings?
The idea to write this blog is to give my growing numbers of friends
and collectors worldwide a direct interchange with my work.
For this blog it is my aim to produce 3 new small sized paintings
every other day, usually done with acrylics on a panel of 25 x
22 cm (9,9" x 8,7")
What's an oddment?
Sometimes I put an oddment on my blog. This is a painting which
is a little different than my normal work, for example due to
the subject manner or just the size. These paintings have a fixed
price and are sold on a first come first served bases. Just send
me an email and luckily you are the first!
2 Shipping
How can I order a painting?
I sell my blog paintings through Ebay. You can easily place your
bid on it by clicking the link beneath the painting of your choice
The paintings marked as 'Oddments' have a fixed price and
are sold on a first come first served bases. Just send me an email
and luckily you are the first! info@gerardboersma.nl
If you're interested in purchasing one of my larger sized
paintings, just send me an email stating the title and we'll go
from there. More information on this can be found here:
www.gerardboersma.nl
How can I pay?
You can pay using paypal. I will send you through PayPal a payment
request for the complete costs. PayPal enables the payment in
Euro even if you are located outside the Euro zone
If you don't have PayPal you can fullfill your payment for
your order by wiring the amount of the painting of your choice
plus the additional fee for taxes, shipping and handling to my
bankaccount. Please contact me for details if you wish to do so.
info@gerardboersma.nl
How much are the shipping costs and are there any additional
fees?
Yes there are. I will charge an additional fee for taxes, shipping
and handling. This fee is added to your winning bid. The taxes
are 6% of your bid, the oddments are tax included, and the fee
for shipping and handling is depending on the size of the painting
and which country you come from. Generally speaking the fee for
shipping and handling should not be exceeding 30,- euro (including
packaging), no matter which country you come from.
Make sure you keep these additional fees in mind when you
place your bid on your painting so you won't be surprised afterwards.
Please contact me for the exact costs of the additional fees,
I would be happy to research those costs for you. You can reach
me by phone (00) 31 (0) 58 2151276 or by e-mail info@gerardboersma.nl
How are the paintings packed during shipping?
After receiving your full payment and the additional fees I will
ship your order, carefully packed in a specially designed case.
How long is the delivery?
The delivery can take up to 14 days but is normally made within
7 days.
Is the painting framed?
No it's not. Only my larger sized paintings are. Please contact
me if you wish to have your painting framed.info@gerardboersma.nl
The painting arrived damaged! What should I do?
After receiving your order you should carefully inspect your painting
on possible damages. Please contact me by phone (00) 31 (0) 58
2151276 or email info@gerardboersma.nl
within 24 hours if you
find any. I will do my best to correct it.
Do you have a guarantee?
Of course! Allthough a painting by me is normally more impressive
in real life than it is as a image on your computerscreen, it
is of course possible that you will find it disappointing after
seeing it in real life.
If you, for any reason, do not want to keep the painting you could
use my no-good-money-back garantee.
The following terms and conditions apply to this:
1 If you do not want to keep the painting, please let
us
know within 2 working days by phone (00) 31 (0) 58 2151276 or
email info@gerardboersma.nl
2 The painting should be returned in the same state as
you received
it within 15 working days.
3 Your payment will be wired back to your account minus
the fee for shipping and handling.
3 Personal
Where are you from? Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Well I was born in Harlingen in 1976 and raised in Makkum. Both
are small places in the Northern part of the Netherlands near
the worldfamous Afsluitdijk. The Northern part of Holland is also
the place were most Dutch realist artist seem to come from,
I think it has something to do with our approach to life. I lived
in Makkum for 22 years together with my parents and my 2 older
brothers. I moved to Leeuwarden to study to become an art teacher
and later on studied at the School of Arts Minerva in Groningen.
I graduated at both schools and I still live happily in Leeuwarden
where I have my studio.
Did you draw a lot as a kid?
Not in particular. I remember winning a Saunta-Clause contest
drawing a picture of a pear which was quite unusual. Other than
that I cannot say I drew a lot as a kid. I first became interested
in drawing when I came across graffiti at the age 12. Then it
really hit off, I was drawin like crazy. One could say my use
of colours still stems from this. Later on I moved from graffiti
towards painting, because I felt I could say a whole lot more
in a painting than I ever could doing graffiti.
Do you exhibit a lot?
Hell yeah! My work is almost non-stop shown all over my native
country and abroad. To give you a few highlights, I've exhibited
a couple of times in New York, Amsterdam, Florence and of course
my hometown Leeuwarden. This year my work has been shown in the
Fries Museum twice and the future is looking bright too.
Where's your studio located?
It's located at the Insulindestraat 164 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
If you happen to be nearby you're welcome to pay me a visit!
I always love people coming over to take a look at my art.
Is your work in a museum?
Yes it is. The Fries Museum, the most influential museum in my
region has collected a piece by me.
Who is Jopie Huisman and how are you related to him?
For people who don't know who Jopie Huisman is, he's a really
famous Dutch realist painter. He's called the painter of compassion
and is known for his highly detailed paintings of rags. He has
his own museum in Workum which attracts thousands of visitors
every year.
I'm related to him through my fathers site. Jopie is the
brother of my grandmother. For some reason you won't find this
in his biography, but he actually lived with my grandfather and
father for a while.
When people are looking at Jopies paintings of his parents,
they're also looking at paintings of my great-grandparents. Pictures
of my grandmother are also included in monographs about Jopie.
That really makes me proud. Unfortunately Jopie passed away in
2000 before I had the change to meet him. I do have some contact
with his daughter Grietje and her husband Gerrit Wijngaarden,
who are both execellent painters. Check out www.jopiehuismanmusuem.nl
and www.gerritwijngaarden.nl
for more information.
Is your work related to that of Jopie Huisman?
Well, we both are realist painters who make highly detailed works
of art. We differ in subject manner though. As Jopie loved to
paint rags and the story behind that, I love to paint more modern
subjects people encounter in everyday situations. So our approach
may be different but we both have an interest in painting the
story of people.
Can you make a living as an artist?
Yes I can! I'm one of the lucky few as they sometimes say. I'm
really grateful that I already get this far at an young age and
I'm never going to give up painting!
For additional information, questions or remarks please
don't hesitate to contact me at the following address:
Gerard Boersma
Wissesdwinger1, studio no. 15
8911 ER Leeuwarden
The Netherlands, Europe
0031 (0) 58 2151276
info@gerardboersma.nl
www.gerardboersma.nl