Ingrid Boesten’s art shop ¹

Ingrid Boesten is an artist from the Netherlands who has created more than 40 paintings since October 2013. Currently living in Kelowna with inoperable stage 4 cancer in her lungs, she has been inspired to paint after an unexpected gift of art supplies from a friend of a friend. Read more about the “RAINBOW” series as well as her full bio below or check out her BLOG.

NOTE: All prices DO NOT include shipping. You can pick up the paintings or we can let you know what the shipping costs are if you are from out of town.

ORIGINALS

 

PRINTS

 

RAINBOW SERIES

The story behind “MY RAINBOW”

I was inspired to paint a set of seven paintings that were in the colors of the rainbow, after I finished a painting that looked like a rainbow, never with that intension! I ended up giving it to one of my very best friends from Holland that I have known for 27 years.
There is something about being known. Being known by somebody that knows your history, that knows your journey, that knows the decisions you have made, knows your pain and laughter. Don’t we all just want to be known? Don’t we all want somebody to root for us, to

Here’s what the Facemount prints look like mounted on the wall.

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The rainbow represents those things to me. Not only is it a promise, but it speaks of hope and a new day. New beginnings. The old is gone, the new has come.
The sun shines and it rains at the same time. Isn’t that what our lives are often like?
Rain and sunshine together creates something beautiful and you are reminded that it is bigger that you. Bigger than we can touch or fathom. You feel small, but the plan is big. You feel known. You feel like somebody is in control. There is a light that shines on our journey, and the decisions that we make matter.
I feel known by the creator of the rainbow. There is hope for me. A new day, rain or shine or both. It is OK!

– Ingrid Boesten
Painted in 2013
Living with stage 4 cancer, being alive!

 

BIO

Growing up in The Netherlands gave me a lot of exposure to art. In my younger years we lived on a boat, but even then, it was important for my parents to enjoy original art on their walls. At one point I counted over 100 original paintings in my dad’s house.

I always remember my dad loving art but I only remember him doing a few charcoal pieces himself. Even then, he was very gifted but didn’t have time to create his own art. Now he is a very well known artist in The Netherlands.

My love for art started out of frustration actually. I used to do renovations for clients and decorate their rooms and I found it difficult to find the right size, color and style of artwork. At one point, one of my clients told me what kind of a piece they were looking for and I thought “I can do this myself!” So one of my first pieces was a 4’ x 8’ piece on plywood. I loved it, and surprisingly they liked it as well. I experimented quite a bit with shapes and colors but I kept coming back to stripes and patterns. Stripes have been my “thing”. When I look at a landscape, an ocean or a sunset I see stripes.

Originally I felt more like a decorator then an artist and I didn’t feel like I deserved to be called an artist but I have grown comfortable with being in that category. I am an extremely creative person and my love to create never stops.

I lived with my family in the US and when we moved to Kelowna in 2008 I didn’t really have the space or know where to start with my art. In 2010 I was diagnosed with colon cancer and after chemo & surgeries I felt like my life was on hold, just trying to enjoy every day that I had been given.

A few months ago, a distant friend from Vancouver decided to send me 2 huge canvases and a ton of art supplies – forcing me to give myself another chance.

Being sick has been hard on my body but when I paint and create I feel super alive and inspired… so that is what I have been doing.

 

Ingrid in the Kelowna Event newspaper