Biography

Marja Lee Kruÿt was born in Holland in the North East Province of Drenthe in 1943.

"Spirituality is of great importance to me, and I base my work on it with a mixture of symbolism, mythology, vision dreams mysticism, intuition , play and humour. For as far as I can cast my mind back I have always been drawing. It was such a great passion of mine.

I taught myself to draw till the age of 15 when I entered Art School in Amsterdam.

Later on in life, many artists inspired me to do what I am doing now in using tools in working with a picture. Particularly in visionary art, the Symbolist movement, the Pre-Raphaelites, Surrealism and Mythology. My favourites were starting with the renaissance painters like botticelli, Fra Angelico, Benezzo, Rembrandt, Durër and Poussin. The pre Raphelite artists like Burne Jones and Rosetti.

Contemporary artists of myth, legend, folklore, and faeries, the like of Alan Lee Brian and Wendy Froud and my daughter Virginia Lee, who is working in a way of using the landscape as a metaphor to express inner feelings.

Over the last twenty years I have had a great interest and feel an affinity with Celtic art and music and medieval art and music.

I’ve spent five years studying fashion illustration and design in Amsterdam, Holland.

Watercolor is mainly what I use. It’s emotionally satisfying to me and can convey a dreamy atmospheric mood which I like. With watercolour although unpredictable and requires some skill in handling if you want to be precise can create happy accidents and even images might start to appear when the paint dries up.

For so far I can remember, I was motivated to draw in line, or line with color wash.

For a commission I will collect as much information as I can concerning the person for whom the picture is for, the likes, hobbies, interests, colors, zodiac sign etc. or what is going on in their life that is of great importance to him or her.

I feel the more we aim and become in time within ourselves, we also connect more and harmonize with all these aspects of the universe and nature.

Sometimes I also work with the earth energies, as to find it to have a good grounding effect, and will carry on working with the naturespirits as I have done for years.

After all , I am also a faery!

Marja Lee Kruÿt
January 5, 2004