She is now working on her 35th portrait and artist Petra Kruijt from Alkmaar is well on her way to painting her goal of a hundred portraits in two years. She has received many photos, but hopes for more. She looks for beauty in imperfection.
Painting a portrait every week is a big job, but artist Petra Kruijt is now doing it easier. In January she started the challenge, with the aim of learning to paint more loosely. “I tend to fiddle a lot and if you find something difficult, you have to do it often.”
Plastic surgeon
The other aim of the challenge is to make a statement against the ‘photoshopped world’ where all imperfections are polished away. “There is not a single magazine where photos are not edited. Girls aged 16 receive a treatment from a plastic surgeon from their parents as a gift. People no longer know what is normal.”
The artist – who has been painting fanatically for about four years – is therefore looking for heads with character: “I understand that people send in their most beautiful photos, but I am not looking for slick pictures, perfect models and smooth heads. having a hundred of them side by side is boring. For example, I would also like to portray people with scars.”
View Petra Kruijt’s work here, text continues below.
In order to get a good reflection of society, she also hopes that people with a different cultural background will send her a photo. “A lot of Turkish people used to live in the neighborhood where I live. I’m actually still looking for a photo of an older Turkish man for one of my portraits. The portrait series should be as diverse as possible.”
When all the portraits are finished, she hopes to be able to exhibit them. She is also thinking of making a coffee table book, for which she is still looking for a publisher. But it is not that far yet, because for now Petra is still busy with brush and canvas. “I actually like it more and more. When I sit behind that easel, I feel free and I forget the whole world.”
If you want to send a photo to her for a chance to be among the hundred portraits, you can here to do.