We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josefien Stoppelenburg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Josefien, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

For me, it doesn’t get much more meaningful than performing music and creating paintings on commission. In commissioning paintings, clients provide me with several elements that have great significance in their lives. They might ask me to make a painting representing a certain city, something that symbolizes their job, a beloved pet, musical instruments or athletic activities to celebrate their hobbies, or a special event such as their Wedding Anniversary. It’s then up to me to take all these elements and combine them into a coherent painting. But it can be much simpler too: The other day I finished a commission for a wonderful woman who had to give up her longtime passion of gardening. We took her favorite flowers into a bouquet and I painted them. She now has a bit of her garden in her home, everyday.

One of the things I love about performing is that you never know who in the audience has never heard this specific piece of music, or who will hear it for the last time. This thought gives me a sense of urgency to give it my absolute best in every concert.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As both a professional soprano, specializing in Baroque Music, and also a painter, I’m a rather usual combination .As a singer, I get to perform glorious music by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi and many other composers all over the world (including my home country of the Netherlands). I love how reflective of the text Baroque music is. I so enjoy the transparent texture and intense emotionality of this stylistic period. It always feels so natural for me to sing, even though it’s hundreds of years old!

I perform as a soloist with choirs, instrumental ensembles and orchestras. It is such a pleasure to meet lots of other music lovers, both as colleagues and as audience members. I’m also a passionate teacher who always seeks to find the individual vocal color and expression in each of my students. Everybody’s sound is unique and it’s a wonderful and fun journey to explore the voice together.

When I’m not performing and teaching, I’m busy creating colorful paintings! I love vibrant colors and dreamy, poetic scenes. Many of my paintings depict nature; flowers, birds, star-sprinkled nights and evoke a sense of joy and mystery. I often combine musical instruments, fairy tales and mythological stories. I work in both oil as acrylic paint. When traveling as a performer, I often still create paintings using watercolors and digital media. I always have art materials with me!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Creating new things from scratch is not always a straightforward process. You don’t just sit and produce constantly – at least, I don’t. It takes thinking, day-dreaming, puttering about and then suddenly having great bursts of productivity. I am lucky in the sense that music and performing replenish my longing for painting, and painting inspires me to sing more. I don’t think I could do just one. At times, I’ll have many weeks when I have so many performances, I cannot paint and the desire to create gets very overwhelming. And when I paint too long, it starts to feel one-sided and isolated. Then I crave making music with other people again.

The United States particularly celebrates taking action and achieving things. I do like that energy a lot. For me, meaningful artworks are created from a strong and rich inner world that constantly needs replenishing. This replenishing happens by reading, thinking, dreaming, listening to music and looking at other people’s creations. It’s not a process one can rush.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I was younger I believed that if you are good enough in your field, people will just notice and you’ll get to the places you deserve. Success is not always achieved that simply. Recently I’ve dedicated myself to learning more about the marketing and entrepreneurial skills that artists need to raise awareness if their work. I’ve invested in sophisticated websites and building an extensive social media network.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.josefienstoppelenburg-art.com and www.josefienstoppelenburg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josefien.artandmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josefien.stoppelenburg
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@josefienstoppelenburg7635/videos