Hello, I'm Wine (wee-neuh)

I am a Belgian-based artist that specialises in portraits and that has a soft spot for 80s and 90 colour palettes.

I paint because it brings me joy and peace, and I’m passionate about sharing this experience with others through my paintings and my workshops.

How I Turned to Painting

I’ve not always been an artist. Or maybe I have – but I denied myself this truth for decades. As so many of us, I believed that I wasn’t talented nor ‘special’ enough to be an artist, and that my craving for creative work was one to only nurture during my spare time. When I started working as an academic researcher in 2011 (as a translation scholar), it didn’t take long before my academic work took over my whole life, including my identity. I moved countries, published books, met amazing people, but something always felt off.

After leaving my academic career in 2021, I hit burnout, hard and deep. I felt like I didn’t know who I was without my job, and I struggled to regain any energy. It’s only when I went on a painting holiday in Spain in 2023 that something started to make sense again. I remember walking on the beach, feet in the sand and the water, and crying incessantly, tears of relief and joy, because I felt like I was finally allowing myself to be who I was this whole time. I was finally giving myself the permission to paint, to explore, to nurture the child in me, and to play. And I haven’t stopped painting ever since.

Artist retreat Spain, 2023

Artistic Practice

I focus on scenes and portraits that evoke feelings of happiness, nostalgia and connection. I often work from old childhood photos. Bold colours are central to my artistic expression – I’m drawn to 80s and 90s inspired colour paletettes, and I often incorporate graffiti spray paint to evoke joy and a sense of nostalgia.

My paintings capture the beauty of seemingly mundane moments – those moments that were fleeting and didn’t seem important, that came between big life events. Amidst the chaos, speed, and turmoil of modern times, my work offers an escape route to times that we experienced as simpler, slower, and more joyful and playful.

In these simple scenes, I find both personal refuge and a quiet rebellion against worlds I know well – academia, the art world, and aspects of contemporary culture – where prestige, ambition, and self-importance often overshadow care, vulnerability, and connection. I have little patience for big words – and the people who use them. I paint because it brings me joy, and because I believe that joy, however small, is worth sharing.

My Teaching Philosophy: We Are All on Our Own Journey

Next to creating art, I also teach oil painting workshops. One of the reasons I love teaching art is because you can see students grow so much.

Maybe you’re a beginner reading this, and you feel intimidated by the idea of participating in a workshop, because you think everyone will be better than you. I recognise that feeling…. I used to struggle with comparing myself to others and setting impossibly high bars for myself. But over time, I learned this: everyone walks their own path. Where you stand today with your skills says very little about your talent, but everything about the time you have already invested in your artistic journey.

There is no point in comparing yourself to someone else, because we are all in different phases of the journey. We are so often told that drawing and painting are purely about talent, but in reality, it is something you can absolutely learn. Just as you study to become a doctor or a programmer. Why is it that we find it logical that a doctor has to study for years, yet we expect an artist to be born a genius with all the skills already in place? That’s not reality!

So, are you a beginner? You are in luck: there is so much to discover, and you are going to see yourself grow. Being a beginner is actually the most exciting phase of the journey. And it is never too late to start!

The photos below show you some of my own journey to illustrate my own growth.

March 2021 (COVID): my first portrait in acrylics. I had no idea what I was doing. The anatomy was off, but I didn’t know how to correct it. I considered the result as proof that I was not meant to be a painter and didn’t try again until 2 years later.

June 2023: the result of a painting retreat I went on in Spain. I can now see how scared I was to paint. There’s an underdrawing in charcoal, and not that much (acrylic) paint on top! Also still some considerable issues with anatomy.

July 2024: After taking more classes, I felt free to experiment. I painted a lot with a painting palette to stop myself from focusing on details too much. I loved experimenting with colour and graffiti spray paint as an underlayer.

March 2026: In my current portrait studies I explore the balance between realism and expressive brushwork. My anatomy skills have improved a lot. I can now focus more on mood, trying to capture the inner world and emotional depth of the subject.