Special encounters

The story of Mo from Birmingham began, how could it be otherwise, on Instagram. He asked if I could ship paintings to England, and I had to turn that down as well. This took place in 2022.

After my rejection, I received a WhatsApp message asking if he could come and pick up a number of works himself from the UK. Of course that was possible, I replied, although I immediately thought he wouldn't actually do it and that he was just another smooth talker. I asked for his name to look him up on Instagram, to which he gave the name of his restaurant. I still found that questionable, too, because anyone can make you believe anything.

Some time passed, and then came the message that he would be making the trip with someone from his design team, and asked if it was convenient for him to come and take a look that week. I couldn't believe what I was reading, said yes immediately, and still didn't believe it. But what did I have to lose? I made sure everything I had in stock was ready that day and waited.

And then suddenly the doorbell rang. With slight tension, I opened the door, because everything would be in English, which I am good at, but still. Someone from his design team had come along too, and all for my work. A woman from a small village who paints out of passion. I felt small compared to these people, who seemed imposing to me, and whom I had put on a pedestal.

Mo told me that Johnny Depp had celebrated the victory in his divorce at his restaurant, something that had been in the news worldwide. Because of that fame, he was going to open a new restaurant, and my work was going to hang there. For that purpose, they were looking for various paintings. They bought as many as would fit in their car and traveled back to the UK.

I couldn't wait for my work to hang in the new restaurant, but things turned out differently. The permits didn't arrive on time and the renovation proceeded slowly, meaning the opening was delayed by years. In October 2024, after many messages, I sent another text, because I really wanted to receive the promised photo of my work in his restaurant. After all, that looks good on my CV.

But that turned out differently too: his wife had meanwhile hung the paintings at their home, and they were allowed to stay there. Well, what can I say, she has good taste.

As is often the case, I was approached via Instagram by someone interested in my work. Because I ship to few countries, it involves a huge amount of paperwork, and I am already extremely busy, I always make it very clear very quickly in such a conversation that, unfortunately, I cannot do anything for them. I then thank them for their kind compliments.

The same goes for this lady, Manuela from Abu Dhabi. We ended the conversation with her telling me she would come by sometime. You have to imagine that I receive these kinds of messages every week, and that I have never seen any of them, which is of course very logical given the great distance.

I never thought about it again. Months later, I am sitting at home having lunch, unsuspecting, when the doorbell rings unexpectedly. Totally unprepared, I open the front door and see two people standing there. They address me in English, and it doesn't click for me yet; for a moment, I thought they had come to sell me something. Until they explain that they had spoken to me via Instagram and had promised to come and take a look at my work sometime. I realize what is happening before my eyes and how special this is.

Because I hadn't seen this coming and my work isn't always readily available, I felt a bit caught off guard. Normally, I have everything perfectly prepared at clients'. But anyway, we're improvising, and I can feel their enthusiasm.

Because I only had a few small works for them that would fit on the plane, I made an arrangement, as a rare exception, to create and send a number of works that fall within the shipping dimensions.

As they were leaving, a spontaneous photo was taken at the front door, and that made me feel very special. When I returned to my lunch, which was still on the table, I didn't quite realize yet what had just happened. But one thing is certain: this was a very special experience, which I will always remember as very special. Thanks for the photo to Manuela from the United Arab Emirates.

And then there is the special story of Gabriel from the Czech Republic. He asked me by email if I would send five large paintings from my collection at the time. Unfortunately, that is very cumbersome, so I had to disappoint him as well.

He didn't leave it at that. He really wanted these paintings and asked if I could look into a possibility of shipping them to the Czech Republic after all. Although I actually already knew how difficult that would be, I looked into it again anyway. My painting prices are not commensurate with the shipping costs, so I went on the hunt. After much back-and-forth inquiry with shipping companies, having crates made, the paperwork, and all the time and energy that goes into it, I had no choice but to decline the commission. In the end, I had to disappoint Gabriel.

Then came his proposal: if I wanted to pack it, he would arrange the transport. Armed with bubble wrap and cardboard, I set to work and made sure everything was ready. At Gabriel's, it took another few weeks after that before he even found a company to make it happen. A courier who made a twelve-hour one-way trip arrived with a van that it fortunately just fit into, only to then make that long journey back again.

This is a typical story of persistence paying off. And once again, I find it very special that there are people who appreciate my work so much that they resort to these kinds of actions. Hats off to Gabriel from the Czech Republic.