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T
his original concept is the brainchild of the
master of the house, a painter who is very
well known in Sint Maarten, Maximiliaan Phelipa.
Born in Curaçao, he arrived on the island in 1973
planning to pursue a career as a police officer
with the Netherlands Antilles Police Corps.
And there lies the paradox (or the wisdom)
of the man affectionately known as “Max”.
Because, for as long as he can remember,
he always dreamed of becoming a painter and
had never ever considered doing anything else
with his life. And yet! It was on the sound advice
of his parents that he put aside (ostensibly)
his artistic ambitions. «Everyone knows, my son,
that an artist’s pockets are always empty!
Find yourself proper job!» That is just what
he did, while continuing to paint!
Young Maximiliaan’s vocation was evident at
a very early age. He spent his early childhood
on a farm, surrounded by animals of every kind.
It was a simple life, in touch with nature and
the elements. The context was to prove
important, as it conditioned and influenced
his entire existence, first and foremost his art.
As soon as he was old enough to hold a pencil
he began to draw everything he saw around him.
In this case flowers, vegetables, trees, a great
many birds and animals. Then, later, he moved on
to portraits using as models the members of his
family whom he painted tirelessly one by one,
filling his sketchbooks with hundreds of drawings.
His technique evolved slowly. He didn’t use color
until some time later, when he came across flowers
so riotously colorful that it was impossible to do
them justice simply with charcoal. There again,
in all humility, he was content for many years with
the simple colored pencils that schoolchildren use!
It was not until he was 18 that he discovered pastels,
watercolors and then oils. So he had drawn and
painted all his life. When he arrived in Sint Maarten,
he fell under the spell of its scenic beauty,
especially the mountainous skyline of the island,
set dramatically against the blues of sea and sky.
His new and different surroundings inspired him and
reinforced his determination to pursue his painting as
he continued to serve with the police force.
Maximilaan’s work can be described as figurative
and naturalistic. He paints everyday scenes
that reflect reality, nature and the environment.
His paintings are dynamic, colorful, vibrant
and brimming with detail. However, from time
to time, if the mood takes him, he will dabble
in abstraction. This means that a painting can
begin as startlingly realistic and then evolve into
something entirely different, offering multiple
levels of interpretation. Giving free rein to his
imagination, he can make a simple flower conjure
up images of a bird of paradise, or the body of
a man or woman, depending on how the viewer
approaches it. He will complete a canvas in just
a few days or over several months, coming back
to rework some of them over and over again.
PORTRAIT
Maximiliaan Phelipa
O n b o a r d # 5
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