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DB WATERMAN, ARTIST

Going after your dream at any cost, even if the financial situation does not allow it. Db Waterman had to challenge herself creatively to make her passion her work. It started with recycling magazines and other materials and now - 7 years later - she is still using this mixed media technique. She is now a recognized artist and her work hangs in several offices and galleries in New York and London.Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: db Waterman

A Bit of Happiness

"Seven years ago I started recycling paper, magazines and all kinds of other materials. At that time, I couldn't afford any painting materials. I was completely at zero financially. But since I still wanted to make art, I gathered everything around me that I could find and then reused it. This resulted in a completely new way of working for me that I still use today, but have expanded and perfected completely. I like to use the paper from magazines and old books for my collage work. I also work with many different materials such as acrylic paint, watercolor, oil pastels and pencil. My brushes are usually old and worn because I work very roughly with them. In addition, my box cutter is a popular tool and I also collect all kinds of materials that I can use as stamps on top of the work. In my work A Bit of Happiness, this can be clearly seen. Layer upon layer of magazine pages and acrylic paint. On top of that pencil and pastel crayon."

Saturday Swing

"Children are an inspiration to me. Their ability to transcend any unpleasant situation is amazing. Playing tag in the ruins of a bombed-out Syrian city, playing soccer in the most miserable neighborhoods: they are always looking for the light. They will save the future that our generations have really messed up and don't even blame us for it. If only we could keep the child in ourselves a little more, we wouldn't be in such a mess. Art can help us find our childlike innocence again. Saturday Swing is a good example of this. This mixed media/collage artwork is my most popular work. It currently hangs in a gallery in New York: Muriel Guipin Gallery, Soho, New York."

It seemed such a good idea

"This is how I work. I use original photographs, all kinds of paper, acrylic paint, oil pastels, ink, chalk and pencil in my artworks. The diversity of resources I can now use has proved indispensable to me. I wanted my works to be transparent and have depth. That was the biggest challenge that collage art presented to me: the relentless lack of transparency. Finding a way to mimic the effects of transparency that watercolors in particular can have. That was a real challenge for me. In my paintings and collages, I try to show the totality of my creative work. Layer upon layer of different materials and all kinds of techniques, all of which leave visible traces in the finished pieces. As an example of transparency, I chose the work It Seemed Such a Good Idea. This collage was chosen to be exhibited throughout the United Kingdom in an outdoor billboard exhibition. This exhibition - on display in train stations, subways and public places - represented a public demonstration of support for action against climate change. Afterwards, my work was sold and now hangs in an office in London."