Q&A with Lieuwe Van Gogh

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Lieuwe Van Gogh

Lieuwe Van Gogh is a Dutch artist and painter. His father was murdered filmmaker Theo Van Gogh and his great great grandfather was Theo Van Gogh, the brother of Vincent Van Gogh. Lieuwe had successful exhibitions in Amsterdam this year. He got his dog Benji from the animal shelter at the end of January this year, and they have been best friends and inseparable ever since. Because the animal shelters are full of dogs and cats, Lieuwe made a painting especially for the DOA, the largest animal shelter in the Netherlands, as a gift to honor the caretakers.

KB: You used to be a chef and I read you use mayonnaise bottles to spray paint. How does that work?

First, I will sketch my idea with a pencil and after that I work with paint in squeeze bottles because you have more grip and drip the paint along the contours of my sketch. To prevent the thick paint from dripping, I place the canvases on the floor or on a workbench. When the weather is nice, I let them dry in the garden behind the studio. I only use one brush for the surface of the painting.

KB: Try to explain your fascination with dragons. What makes them special?

Haven’t done a dragon in a while, but as a kid I was fascinated with Dragonball Z. It was also a big reason to start drawing. My father also pushed me to do that. He liked the fact that after the famous Vincent there was another Van Gogh who loved drawing and painting. I was a fat, introverted boy who didn’t like playing football or playing outside. I only drew monsters and dragons or our dog Igor. I found The Bad Guy much more interesting than The Good Guy.

I understand that Vincent was also very productive in the last year of his life. Not that I want this to be my last year…

KB: You had an art exhibition in De Duif Amsterdam. How did that go?

Yeah, it was really nice! To see my work in the venue (a former church) is really great. During the opening I had to do some public speaking for 300 people which was an adventure (I’ve got quite a stutter) but luckily, I could bring my 84-pound Pitbull on stage so that helped.

KB: You are traveling through Europe. Where would you go and what would you paint?

Somewhere cold! maybe Sweden during winter. Subject wise I never really plan it out, it’s a kind of in the moment thingy, but let’s go for a dragon.

KB: You have 4 art museums wanting to display one of your paintings: Tate London, Louvre Paris, MOMA New York and Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Which museum would you choose and what painting would you send?

I would go for the one with the biggest wall, because I would want to make a crazy large painting 10×10 meters painting, crazy big collage or something.

KB: If you could recreate a famous painting and give it your own style: What painting would you choose and how would you change it?

I had an idea to re-do ‘Starry Night’ but with the Hindenburg crashing down in flames.

KB: Is there a painter you feel most attracted to and why?

My favorite is Shohei Otomo, he does crazy things with a ballpoint marker.

KB: What are your future plans? Any new exhibitions coming up?

For now, I just keep working hard and see what lies on my path. It must be something abroad no matter what. Together with my six-year-old dog Benji. Benji was found on the streets in Amsterdam and had lived in a dog shelter for over a year. They almost had to put him down, because nobody was interested in adopting him. The studio in Amsterdam is very big with a huge courtyard so Benji is always there with me and living his best life. Benji is my muse and best friend. For world Animal Day I created a special print to support the DOA shelter, where I got him from.

Check out Lieuwe’s website for more information about the painting he made for the dog shelter: HERE

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