Kristel Van den Eynden
Painting as a gift
by Annelies A. Vanbelle (Art Journalist)
June 2019

Kristel Van Den Eynden works in both the abstract and figurative, but her paintings always radiate tenderness, playfulness and lightness. You will not easily find pain in her paintings, there is already enough of it in the world that surrounds us, she believes: "I want to bring positivity into the world, as a counterbalance to all the negativity. Even when her own sadness seeps into a painting, she paints over it so that it is invisible to the viewer. Her works have to be a gift, a gift to the world, starting from her personal world but with a universal message.

Before she starts painting, Kristel seeks the silence through meditation. The first images, colours and shapes that emerge are the most powerful parts of her paintings, a direct signal from the subconscious. There, where you lose yourself in the flow, where non-thinking dominates, where the intuitive is allowed to speak, that is where the magic happens. In the sunlight, in the grass, close to nature, that is how Kristel prefers to work. In her studio in Knokke, but also in France, where silence and nature are within easy reach, where she effortlessly comes into contact with her true self. In the south, she likes to use materials she finds there, such as carriers of weathered wood or yellow ochre as pigment.

"I want to offer something to someone," she says, "it's not about me. A painting can change something in an interior, bring a certain energy into a room." She firmly believes in the healing power of art, inspired by spiritual examples such as Haemin Sunim, Elisabeth Gilbert and even Alain De Botton with his book Art as therapy. Currently, she is working on a series of 365 meditative cards, with an enriching message for every day. Accessible and comforting, a simple initiation to take people on the spiritual path. With meditative exercises, colours that support and empower, and practical tools to help you stand tall in our hectic world.

Since Kristel herself is highly sensitive (=intuitive), she knows very well how sensitive people are sometimes put to the test. To experience everything more intensely, to feel more physically and mentally intense, is not always a gift. There were times when the feminine, the soft, was ridiculed in our society. Gradually a turnaround is taking place, and these feminine tendencies are being admitted and appreciated again. Kristel sees it for herself as a lemniscate movement, a natural dual state of the world in which she wants to move freely. That is why her works are both abstract and figurative, rational and emotional, male and female, light and dark. But always with an eye on the one who receives it, whom she places above her own needs. "Do what you love, that's how you make people happy", Kristel believes. With her progressive, highly personal approach to art, she will inspire many more people.

Commissioned portraits
Apart from her abstract and figurative paintings, in which she mainly draws from nature as a source of inspiration, Kristel has another great love: portraits. This is often done on commission. She listens carefully to the wishes of the client and gets to know the person she is painting closely through a personal conversation. This way the portraits are not merely realistic, but an expression of the soul of the person being portrayed. Kristel looks through people until she gets to the essence, tries to feel their being in its purest state. This makes her portraits unmovable. Often she also gives a 'blueprint' as a gift, a small painting with the colours and shapes that belong to the person and can offer support.

Workshops for adults and children
The path Kristel followed, as a person and as an artist, also helps her to guide others. Her studio in Knokke is therefore also a welcoming workplace for others, both adults and children. Through meditative exercises, Kristel helps her students to step over blockades and let their intuition speak. Sometimes inspiration is hidden under many layers of ratio and worries. Because of her loving, liberating approach you end up in the now moment and enjoy the creative flow. Completely in silence, at your own pace, you learn to be without judgement and to listen to your own heart, your own gut feeling. Every emotion is valuable and allowed. Every creation has its value. Kristel's workshops are a gift to yourself, a wonderful exercise in de-stressing, a place where you can find shelter from the rat race and come closer to your vulnerable yet powerful core.