When something special had to be prepared, the kitchen was his domain. Every year before Christmas we had hours of "room confinement" because the kitchen door (which was also the entrance to the house) had to remain closed to prevent the rising dough for the Christmas bread from sagging in case of a sudden draught.

When I attended Art school in Amsterdam he would continually hear me out about new techniques. He encouraged me to make reports so he could experiment as well. Examples were painting with slips of cardboard, the making of pre-compositions for his paintings in collage technique.

In those days he began, through my sister Beatrijs who attended an art school (textile department), a trade in weaving looms. Although this was meant to raise income, his enthusiasm about the possibilities the colors of the Finnish wool had, lead him to creating a tapestry. From a technical point of view it is far from perfect but it at the same time it is a heartwarming "wool painting." During this period we traveled on 2 motorbikes to Normandy, where he taught me the water coloring technique. He composed a still life with shells on the sand and then made me experience the "intent dance for the whites".
Polder Groet 1946 aquarel 21 x 28

After 1965, a period in which we saw less of each other as I lived far away, it was surprising to see how he progressed with his painting. His first obvious abstract ("Schoorl seen from the polder") was a breakthrough, it is a spectacle of colors and light in the ditches, on the background one sees the still traditionally painted dark houses.