About

About Me

I’m Berend van den Brand, artist & photographer from the Netherlands, but really just someone chasing beauty, freedom, and a sense of wonder. My work is abstract, colorful, and full of shapes that seem to dance between worlds: sometimes as vast as a galaxy, sometimes as tiny as a cell.

For me, art is about authenticity, the courage to be fully yourself, free from expectations or old stories. My drawings become little anchors, reminders to celebrate life, trust the unseen, and step into the power that’s already within us.

Inspiration and Process

Most of my work begins in meditation. I let go, doodle, scribble, and allow shapes and colors to slip out of the unconscious. Spirals, circles, playful structures, they arrive like their own secret language. Colored pencils are my favorite tool because they keep things light, portable, and spontaneous. My backpack is my studio, I've been traveling full-time for the last two years and I often create on the move. Wether that's sketching on New Zealand’s Te Araroa trail, the rugged Outback or along Australia’s wild coastlines. 

Personal Journey

Art has always been my sanctuary. As a child I felt overwhelmed by the world, and creating gave me space to breathe. It was my way to escape to world and feel safe. Later, experiences of personal transformation reshaped how I view life and art. They stripped away illusions, challenged my fears, and opened the door to a more authentic, spiritual perspective. That’s why my abstract work isn’t about showing reality, but about embodying what lies beyond words.

Stage, Spirit, and Transformation

Before pursuing drawing professionally, I studied and worked in musical theater. The stage taught me discipline and expression, but also the tug-of-war between ego and authenticity. That tension led me to study yoga and meditation in India, which eventually led to art as my truest way of expressing. Along the way, I’ve had mystical moments, visions, energies, experiences of dissolving ego, and these continue to fuel my work. My art isn’t about control; it’s about trust and surrender.

For Whom I Create

My art speaks to people who crave beauty, those who wonder and explore beyond what's conceived as "normal". People who want their spaces to remind them of freedom, joy, and authenticity. It’s for anyone walking their own path courageously, guided by both curiosity and the unseen.

Symbols and Connection

Spirals, circles, contrasts, they keep reappearing, echoes of life’s dance between chaos and harmony. Where I once drew figuratively to hold onto an experience, my abstract works now are the experience itself.

I feel deeply connected to those who resonate with my art, because I believe we’re walking similar paths; searching for freedom, beauty, and a fuller life. My wish is that my art isn’t only looked at, but felt: a spark of inspiration, a reminder to trust yourself and the mystery of it all.