I want to lure you in my secret garden to ask you to lose yourself and forget everything. To choose for Eros as the life force that overcomes all degradation and despair. My work visually enacts the wish to create newness in beauty, thus continuing life in the face of the unexpected and sorrowful.

These still life paintings are not quiet at all. They are staged photographs and If you're not careful, a snail comes crawling out, a goldfish swims among the glassware. You get splashed wet .

'The saturated colors and suspended moments of subtle movement in images like Lupinelure by Smulders demanded my attention.... They are sensuous and saturated scenes tainted by a hint of chaos, producing a feeling of evanescence.'*

(*Simple Beauty Proves Challenging, 08-06-2012, Reviews, Casey Lynch)

Wishing you a refreshing summertime.

Margriet Smulders