Chantal van Houten: Capturing Emotions & Experiences Through Portraiture

Garden of Eden. Mixed media on canvas.

Chantal van Houten.

Book of life 2.0. Mixed media on canvas.

Believe in Fairytales. Mixed media on paper.

Les marais de l'amour (2). Mixed media on canvas.

Les Marais de L'amour (1). Mixed media on canvas.

Jungle. Mixed media on canvas.

With emotional expression as a common theme among her work, van Houten finds much of her inspiration from people and their behavior. In this interview, van Houten shares her artistic journey and aspirations with us, from pursuing a career in graphic design to becoming a full-time artist.

How did your creative journey begin?

Looking back, it began when I was at the young age of 8, I think. In that time, I discovered that my drawings were different from children of the same age, my drawings were much more detailed than other classmates. My interest in drawing began to grow and I wanted to develop myself. When classmates came by my home to ask me if I wanted to come outside to play, I would often turn them down just to go back to drawing and develop my skills. Then when I was older, I wanted to go to art school but was insecure, so insecure of being rejected and not good enough. Instead, I went to study creative communications, media and art in Amsterdam. It felt like a much safer choice at the time because you couldn’t be rejected there. After my degree I went to work as a graphic designer and creative account manager. But, I couldn’t lose the feeling of expressing myself in a different way. So I quit my job and the real journey began. I started to paint and developed my own style over the years. I am a self-taught artist, and it took a lot of time and devotion to be the artist I am today. One thing that has persisted is the need to express myself in a way that allows people to recognize the situation and learn from it. Sometimes the situation is not recognizable immediately, but you must look harder and really search for the message, because there is always a message or a feeling I want to transfer. I think it has something to do with the fact that I like people to experience confusion and learn from it. So, I always try to achieve that with my art.  

Also, I joined the art society ‘Saint Lucas Amsterdam’ to meet other artists and hear about their experiences in the art world. To be a member of this art society you must be chosen; they judge your work and ask questions about the decisions you’ve made and then decide if you can join the art society. Of course I was very excited to hear that they wanted me to join, because it’s one of the most well-known art societies of Amsterdam and founded by great artists, Piet Mondrian and Jan Toorop among others.

It really helped me to talk to other artists in my journey. But I don’t think it’s blissful to be a part of an art society, my experience is that it’s nice to meet people of the society and learn from their experiences. Social media can also do that. Instagram can also be a place of contact with other artists and beautiful things can grow out of that. It has brought me a lot of opportunities too. 

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I am most inspired by people’s behavior and the way people live their life. My experience with people is that most of them have a similar way of living. I find that fascinating because if you think of it, it’s weird. Everyone has similar experiences, for example falling in love. Many people have experienced a broken heart and know how that feels. I think it’s fascinating that in feelings we are quite similar.

People can recognize those experiences and it’s a huge inspiration source for me. To express feelings is one of the goals I want to achieve in my paintings. Also, historical paintings are a big inspiration for me. Mainly art of the 17th century because of the movement in the paintings and the use of symbolism and light. People were so experimental in that period and we can learn so much about it by looking at these paintings.

I really love to refer to that time by using objects like the white collars. But most of all I love the paintings in earlier times, like the 15th century and before. I’m a big fan of the static movement in the paintings. Faces are not flat but have a flat image, so you must do your best to see what the expression is, love it. And of course also the symbolism and relation to religion. I’m not a religious person but I find belief systems fascinating, it’s especially interesting that many people rely on faith no matter what. I can only have respect for that.

How has your work evolved over the last few years?

I always have worked figuratively and with non-expression on the faces or a lack of expression. I believe that the emotion that you can’t see is more important. Over the years the faces became more detailed as I started to work with oil paint. In the faces I wanted to create more depth and that really works well with oil paint. Over the years my figures in the painting became more covered in black. This because I felt the urge to do so, I don’t think it’s important how you look, it’s about the person behind it. I want the viewer to go deeper into their feelings, beyond the surface. The black works well because it gives you a feeling that something is going on and you need to figure out what that is, and maybe recognize that some feelings are similar in the painting.

Another reason is that everybody has a mask on to protect themselves from being hurt. People often don’t show their true colors right away. For example, nowadays people ventilate a lot through social media, and you must try to really get to know each other. I also love it when people get a little bit thrown into the deep and experience different emotions and thoughts, and these thoughts are for themselves. I’m not to judge that.

What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?

A typical in my studio begins with turning on my music. I have a couple of playlists on Spotify, they help me to get in creative state. When I’m working on a painting I always begin with the face and hands if the figure has them. They are always the most detailed part of my paintings and the most work. I use examples of paintings, usually from the late 17th century for inspiration. When I’m in this process most of the time the subject I want to work on is not clear to me yet. Most of the time it comes to me when I’m already working on it. So, in this creative process I continue. Sometimes I work on two paintings at the same time. I will have them next to each other and I just let them work on me. Then I shift back and forth between the paintings. I usually work several hours in a row, until I feel the need to take a break from the painting process. After the break I will continue. And sometimes I don’t continue at all if it doesn’t feel right.

My practice has grown over the years by painting a lot and studying for example paintings from the 17th century. I focus on paintings from this century because of the light use and how they build up a face with oil paint. You will need a lot of patience and exercise and a lot of perseverance. It’s a beautiful thing that in this profession you’ll never stop learning. Learning about technical things, about yourself and your ability.

Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?

As I’m getting older and looking back on my journey as an artist, I think mainly life experiences. Experiences in love and relationships make you realize and grow as a person. This comes with the necessary life lessons. These realizations and learning moments have had a huge impact on my work.

Love and relationships are a popular subject in my work. I think it fascinating how we go through life and the choices we make. Also, experiences that are not my own but of the people next to me or even in the news can end up in my painting. It’s not always clear what the message is but if you look hard enough you will see. I like to use objects that are symbolic in my paintings, such as the serpent. The serpent is a returning symbol in my work - it’s symbolic in many mythologies and rites. Often the snake has a dual character of good and evil and of life and death. In certain cultures, the snake is considered a fertility symbol.

How has social media impacted your art career? 

Social media, mainly Instagram has opened doors for me. I have built up relationships with other artists and with art galleries. I think it’s fair to say that Instagram has made it happen for me to exhibit abroad. Also, a lot of publications of my work circulated through Instagram. But there is a pitfall, it can be also work negatively. Because of the algorithm, your posts can’t be seen by all your followers. It can make you feel insecure because the ‘likes’ aren’t that great, which can make you doubt if your work is good enough. You must be confident and believe in what you do. I have struggled with that in the past. When I first began posting on Instagram, there was another algorithm. Your followers could see everything you posted. So, my ‘likes’ were so much more than it is today. It made me doubt my skills and art for a short while. It’s more difficult today to be seen the social media.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

One of my future goals is to exhibit more in the United States. A lot of my work has been sold and shipped off to the U.S. either through me or Saatchi Art. But I never had a real physical gallery to represent me and I would love to have that and exhibit more in the U.S.

My biggest aspiration is to hang at the MoMA of course, no small one, I know, but it’s always good to think big ;-).

Another goal is to make bigger pieces. Most of my pieces are not very large as I like to work on a small format (mostly 50x70cm). But to keep on challenging myself, I’m planning to work larger.

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