Egbert Lieveld
January 10, 1919, Berg en Dal, Para District

“For as long I as remember I have been painting. Even while I was still in my mother’s womb! It is part of me; it was a gift from heaven.” It is a typical element of Egbert Lieveld’s painting technique that he often combines paint with other materials, thus creating a hint of three-dimensionality in his work. “I am by profession a designer and builder of structures, not an artist. My method of painting is based on the way one builds a house, using roofing, wood and sand.”

The Coronie District is prominent in Egbert Lieveld’s work. That special bond dates from 1946 when he spent some months in the coastal district as a surveyor employed by the Ministry of Public Works. The special atmosphere of the district appealed to him right from the start and even after many decades it is still almost tangible. “I often paint from nature. I observe my surroundings, and then after a while I start painting. It is just as when you’ve taken a photograph; only when it is printed can you see the final result. But all along you had captured the image in your mind.” Sometimes it takes years before such an image actually becomes a painting; according to the painter that is because it must ripen. “Once it’s ripe I bring it out into the open. My secret is: I never start painting without saying a prayer first. And then I find the inspiration for my hands to create.”

© Text: Marieke Visser, in: Talent. Uit de kunstcollectie van de Centrale Bank van Suriname, Paramaribo (Centrale Bank van Suriname) 2007. © English translation: Anne-Marie Reeder

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