My name is John Uilenberg, I was born(1960) in a city called Gorinchem in The Netherlands.

I still remember exactly how my interest in drawing and painting was born. When I was about in the age of 12, I was searching for something on the loft of my parent’s house. Between some old stuff I found a small oil painting. It showed a cowboy who tied the reins of his horse to a tree. Not exactly a masterpiece, but in a matter of way it impressed me. I studied the scene and discovered my father’s signature.
Up until that moment I never knew that my father had drawn or painted something. Later when I came down in the living room I asked my parents about the painting. My father dismissed it and it seemed as if he wasn’t exactly proud over it. We never talked about that painting again and in a mysterious way it disappeared. He must have thrown it away. I never realized it but this must have been the moment that my creative mind was triggered.

In my youth I never did a serious attempt on drawing or painting. Like many others I sketched during the boring lessons in high school and sometimes I made a landscape in watercolor paint. During my youth all my time was filled with my passion for nature and sport fishing. Almost 3 decades I did spend more than 1500 hours a year on the riverbanks. Fishing rods, carp, pike, kingfishers, buzzards, smelly baits ruled my life. Rain, storm even freezing cold couldn’t keep me away from my favorite spots. Nowadays this passion for nature and angling takes a different place in my life.

In the year 2000 there came a time that it was not possible for me to spend time on angling any more. This was the moment I picked up painting again. I started with painting fish, animals and landscapes. I always looked up against portrait painting and never had the guts to try. It lasted to the summer of 2007 before I gave it a shot. I decided to start with a portrait of Bob Dylan. I liked the result and decided doing more and more. At the moment I paint a lot of celebrities. Now I am nearly to say that I am more and more pleased about the results.

This site shows some of the portraits I have painted in the last years. If you are interested in one of these paintings I would be pleased hearing from you. Would you like to have your, your partner or children’s portrait painted, or you are looking for a unique present, perhaps I can help you.

Thanks for visiting my site.