Jos WM van der Meer
Artist | Birds Colour Printmaker
Jos WM van der Meer was born in The Hague on April 15, 1947.
The first lessons in drawing and painting he received from his father, Maarten DJ van der Meer (1909-1994). Between the age of 12 and 17, he was taught the basic techniques of drawing, water colour, pastel and oil on canvas from the painter Hendrik Raab (1903-1983) in The Hague.
Apart from these more serious activities, he became a cartoonist; his cartoons have appeared in Mediator in the Netherlands Journal of Medicine, and a number of books [www.josvandermeer-cartoons.nl].
Between 1998 and 2020, he was taught graphic art by Caroline Koenders [www.carolinekoenders.nl] in Nijmegen and Kleve. In 2023 he moved to Amsterdam, where he has his studio at home.
His major inspiration is formed by the living nature, especially birds. He aims to depict the latter beyond pure naturalistic representation, for instance by making use of anthropomorphic features or alienating elements. Often his prints try to tell a story.
A selection of his work is also on display on the website of Vogelkunstenaars (Bird artists)
Bio sketch
SIMORGH [Persian poem]
The birds gather to find their king Simorgh. They go on a journey, led by the hoopoe. Many birds have to give up along the way. Ultimately, thirty birds arrive at their destination. There they discover that their target, Simorgh, was themselves. Si means 'thirty', and morgh 'bird'. So they were always looking for themselves.
Testimonials
I have admired Jos’s work for years now. His delicate mark making and soft etched tones are beautiful complimented by the bold shapes the cut out plates create when printed. I know how much skill it takes to cut out the plates and am always impressed when I see new work by Jos. - Jenny McCabe [Artist Printmaker Lancaster UK]
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I follow your work already for many years with great interest. The etching prints are of high quality and the images are a pleasure to see. Please continue your inspirational work. - Henk van der Vorst [Artist in Graphics, Design and Paper Art]
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Apart from being a gifted artist, Jos is a highly esteemed scientist. In science the so-called Hirsch-index (H-index) is a robust measure of scientific quality! Among friends and colleagues of Jos, an alternative artistic index became popular, the so-called Jos-index. This J-index stands for the number of art works from Jos you own yourself. I am very proud of my J-index of three. - Paul Smits [former Dean]
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The wonderful etchings of Jos show lifelike images of birds of all kinds, sometimes depicted in their natural habitat, sometimes in unusual or even humorous situations. Without exception, the colour setting is magnificent. It has become a tradition that PhD students from my research group receive an etching from Jos' collection as a gift after completing their dissertation. The responses are invariably heartwarming! - Bas Bloem [Neurologist]