Sylvia Frankena

Sylvia Frankena paints gardens and extraordinary landscapes as places of wonder, tranquillity and discovery. With oil paint and a free, sensitive brushstroke, she does not translate nature literally, but captures above all the experience of observing it: the light between the leaves, the movement of plants and the feeling of becoming completely immersed in a setting. During the Covid period, Sylvia discovered a remarkable garden along the River IJssel in Zwolle, a green estate surrounded by water. With her easel and oil paints, she worked there in the open air, surrounded by irises, ferns, butterbur leaves and trees reaching upwards towards the clear Dutch sky. This encounter marked the beginning of her project Tuinontmoetingen (Garden Encounters), in which gardens and special places became a lasting source of inspiration. Sylvia paints from observation, yet her canvases are more than records of a landscape. Through her free brushwork, her interplay of light and dark, and her attention to colour, dreamlike worlds emerge in which nature takes on an atmosphere of its own. The garden becomes a place where time slows down and where every detail invites a renewed look. Her paintings invite the viewer to travel through the landscape with her. A leaf, a reflection in the water or an unexpected touch of colour can draw the eye anew each time. In the work of Sylvia Frankena, looking becomes a form of discovery: quiet, sensory and full of wonder.

format:  120 x 100 cm