Biography (English)

Hub Pollen, Still life artist
 
 ' Contemporary Realism' , that is how Hub Pollen (born 1946) likes to describe his work. His  still life paintings are amazingly realistic and painted with the same perfection as the early  17th and 18th century still life artists. His love for detail is unmistakably noticeable in his  paintings. Serenity and apparent simplicity. Ageless art in a restless era. 

  Hub is a late bloomer. Around his 50th birthday he rediscovered his favorite childhood pastime and initially worked as a self-taught man. Painting lessons in Belgium later gave wings to his talent, as a result of which he decided to fully focus on painting when he was 55.
  “I am particularly inspired by the 17th and 18th century still life painters, but also by the contemporary Dutch artists. My technique is based on the classical method. That is why I also explored making the paint and varnish myself. In former times painting was mainly a craft that had to be mastered by a lot of practice. Not with a fast and driven way of working, but by working calmly and thorough. I spend a lot of time determining what objects I am going to paint and the composition I am going to use. Also I spend a lot of time thoroughly studying the light, as the interaction between light and dark gives character to my paintings. Only until
that has been settled can I start working on the painting.”
  His work is constantly progressing and improving, however not in terms of a change in style or materials. “I have always worked with oil-paint. In my opinion that is a magnificent medium. My style in painting has a distinct similarity with my personality: I am obsessed with authenticity which originates from perfectionism which you can also recognize in my work. I am also rather egocentric, I prefer to work alone. Almost daily you can find me in my studio, if possible even during the weekends. Alone, with my painting attributes and the smell of oil-paint and white spirit, I am at my best.” 
Copyright; Hub Pollen