Who is Thijs Postma?
This story is about the man behind the artist, Thijs Postma.
He is considered an aviation lover. Besides an artist, he is also a photographer, librarian, magazine editor, book author, designer and last but not least an authority on aviation history in The Netherlands.
The artist in him emerged early in his life. At the age of twelve he was earning money painting landscapes at the rate of one per minute on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. Many decades later, now a successful artist, he has created a substantial collection of aviation art (around 580 paintings).
Thijs believes that being an artist is something that one is born to do and not learned at school. He is self-taught based on practical experience, learning by trial and error, and studying the work of his influencers. He further expanded his knowledge in gouache with his photographic realism, which characterises his work. His work is not only an aviation painting, it is a combination of many ingredients: history, time, place, backgrounds and even weather conditions.
There are many things that we can learn from him as a man and artist, but these two defined the person he has become:
- About art: Art is the soul of mankind. A soul doesn't require a resume, art is something you feel and experience with all your senses.
- About life: Don't be afraid to follow your dreams and keep working on what you love until your last breath. At the age of 88, he feels that he is just beginning.