2016 was full of necessary endings and promising new beginnings. After the Drawing Marathon and my stay in New York, I returned to Brussels, all happy and inspired. I felt energized and was ready to take on the world. So much so that I decided to present my first solo exhibition … within one month’s time.

That would have been already a daring (and here I mean delirious) decision if I could have invested 100% of my time. It was even crazier because I am also working full time. But you know, crazy is good, challenges help us grow … and crazy makes for a really good learning curve. Days were long, nights were short and stress levels were sky rocketing.

So I threw myself into an intense painting marathon for my very first exhibition. I named it New Beginnings because it was a time to redefine myself. It was right after the ending of long relationship, having just turned 30 and feeling ready to become more myself. This path that I’ve been on since I can remember is not only magic and fairy dust though. As you and many other people know, it includes ongoing soul-searching moments, new truths and rewriting old stories. It was and is hard work and I love it.

I’m very thankful for the trust and encouragement by Valerie, whose coworking and gallery space is definitely worth a visit when you’re in Brussels, be it for work, art or both. Check out the link below the pictures for more info on the space.

It was an exciting time and I learned a ton about preparing a show and all the elements that need to be considered. I underestimated the time and energy it takes to organize everything and still work on paintings. Lesson learned!

When the opening day came, I was so relieved that everything had worked out and that people enjoyed the exhibition.  I was also worn out like hell and anxious and super happy, all at the same time. But hey, 2016 was my crash course year and I regret nothing.

Because we all need new beginnings!