Birgit Koopsen would draw for hours with her grandmother, turning rainy Dutch days into explosions of color. Her creative life has always been hands-on and joy-driven. In this Artist Spotlight, she shares how family, curiosity, and a love of experimentation led her from scrapbooking to vibrant mixed-media and gel-plate printmaking. Her story is a reminder that following what makes you happy can open doors you never planned.
Tell us about your early memories of being creative.
When I was a child I loved to draw. My paternal grandmother was a very good drawer. We lived in the Netherlands but my oma lived in Germany and during summer vacation she always came and stayed with us for six weeks.
I remember that she would sit with me and draw for hours. I’m sure I inherited my drawing skills from her! My father was very creative with wood. What his eyes saw, his hands could make.
He taught my sister and me how to jigsaw and then paint the figures we created. It was a favorite family weekend activity, especially on cold and rainy days. In summer, he would make paper kites with us. He made the frames, and we would cover them with kite paper in all colors of the rainbow and add long tails from paper bows to them. And they would actually fly!
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You studied drawing and art history early on. How did that shape your creative path?
Art and art history were some of my majors in high school, and I would have loved to go to art school. Unfortunately, at that time, it seemed as if everybody wanted to go, and there were only so many places available. There was a lottery to come in, and I was not even invited to show my portfolio. I’m sure that if I had been accepted, I would have been a graphic designer now, because that was what I wanted to study.
Instead of art school, I got a job at an accountancy office, and met my boyfriend (my future husband). I took all kinds of short art courses like etching, sculpting, printmaking, model drawing, oil painting etc.
It helped me stay in touch with my creativity in every day working life.
And then I became a stay at home mom and discovered scrapbooking. A whole new world opened up to me as scrapbooking was completely new in the Netherlands. And I was totally hooked!
How did scrapbooking evolve into your love of mixed media and printmaking?
I guess I have to thank Elsie Flannigan for that, LOL!
Through her I was introduced to freestyle scrapbooking and I loved it! I started creating my own embellishments and background papers rather than buying them – although I never stopped buying patterned paper as I am a huge paper lover – and at some point I started to like the whole process of creating background papers more than the actual scrapbooking. For a while I did scrapbooking and mixed media art journaling next to each other but slowly the mixed media side took over.
For several years, I went to CHA in LA, and one year I took a class where the gel plate was introduced. A year later, I met Lou Ann, the founder of Gelli Arts®, at the Creative World show in Frankfurt, and that was the real beginning of my printmaking journey.
I started teaching printmaking classes, and the gel plate became my main and most loved art tool.
Your love of color is famous. Where did that affection for bright hues begin?
I’ve had that question before, and I don’t really know! I always joke that The Netherlands, where I live, is so grey and rainy that I have to create my own sunshine.
And who knows, there might be some kind of truth in there, but ultimately, bright colors just make me happy!
Do you have creative rituals that help you get inspired when you’re stuck?
I don’t really have rituals. The best way for me to get going again is to just start! Sometimes I simply don’t know where or with what to start. What works best for me, then, is a “gel printing for the sake of gel printing” session.
Just roll out some paint, grab whatever texture is around me and start printing without a goal. I might end up with a bunch of printed tags or a stack of collage papers, it doesn’t matter but in the end I always feel energized again and a lot of times ideas for projects pop up in my mind while I’m printing.
Describe your studio space. How does it feel when you walk in?
My studio is a room on the ground floor of our home. It’s not big but it’s cozy and light and filled with colorful artwork. I have shelves above my workstation filled with a rainbow of little bottles of inks and paints. I have a large pinboard full of memories, cards, and artwork from friends.
It’s also well organized, I know exactly where to find everything, and I have all my favorite and most used items on hand. Sometimes (a lot of times, LOL) it’s a big mess, but cleaning up is easy because everything has its place.
When I walk in there I feel home and safe and inspired. It is my happy place!
How do you choose a color palette for a new project?
I don’t! I have an Ikea Raskog cart with all of my favorite paint colors next to me and I just start by choosing one or two colors that speak to me at the moment and then work from that. Most times the next color I pick is a contrasting color. Even when I print snowflakes, they will be colorful and bright.
Gel printing is an important technique in your work. Why does that medium speak to you?
I think one of the reasons I like gel printing so much is that you never exactly know how the outcome will be, no matter how skilled you are it will always be a bit unpredictable. I also like the fact that you can never make the same print twice. Every print is unique and different.
And I love how you can create layers and textures that you would never be able to create with a brush.
What are your favorite products/tools?
My favorite products are acrylic paint, PanPastel, paint markers, and (watercolor) pencils.
I love how I can combine all of them together and how they all have their specific feel and way of adding to the final piece.
When it comes to printmaking, my most used (texture) tools are found and waste materials. I love up-cycling and finding ways to turn trash into treasure.
Some of my favorite tools include pill strips, (cardboard) packaging materials, pieces of lace, and old crocheted doilies.
I also love to create my own texture plates, blocks, and rolls. Handmade tools are unique and personal. Nobody else will ever have the exact same, and I think that is cool. And last but not least, botanicals. You can find the most beautiful art tools in nature.
Can you share a time when a “happy accident” changed your art?
That’s an easy one! Discovering magazine image transfer printing.
One day I was printing, and the pick up paper I placed on the plate was smaller than the plate itself. I needed to place some paper on top to be able to rub without getting paint all over my hands. The nearest sheet of paper was a magazine page, and when I lifted up this page, parts of the text transferred to the plate. At first, I didn’t get it, but then it hit me what had happened and that it was something very exciting!
After experimenting with it for a while, I was the first one ever to make a video about this technique that was posted online.
It changed the way I looked at my gel plate. It felt even more magical than it already did, and it made me brave enough to experiment even more with all kinds of products. I started coloring the images on the plate with paints and PanPastels, adding permanent/alcohol pens, etc. I think it was the start of my gel printing turning into mixed media printmaking.
You’ve taught in many countries and online. How has teaching impacted your own making?
In the first years of teaching, it impacted my own making a lot!
I felt like I had to come up with ideas and create classes that the audience would like. When I was creating a class, I would think, “Will this sell? Is this what people want?” And I guess I was good at knowing what people wanted because I had the privilege to be invited and teach all over the world.
It also felt at times as if I had to make concessions to what I really wanted to make. Not that I didn’t like what I created, but especially when I was working with manufacturers, I felt like I was expected to use certain products in my workshops that I would not necessarily have chosen myself if I had been creating just for me.
I am older now and more confident, and also I care less about what other people think, LOL.
I’m at a point where I’m like “This is what I make, and if you like it, I can teach you how to do it, and if you don’t, then please move on”.
And I definitely feel like my art is more ME now.
What have you learned from your students over the years?
Oh my goodness, I’ve learned so much from my students! In every workshop I taught, I also learned something myself, from clever tricks to new techniques.
I think the biggest and most beautiful lesson I learned has nothing to do with art. It is to embrace different cultures, different lifestyles, and different countries.
No matter where in the world we go, we are all human, we all want to be loved, be safe, be happy, and create. The best part of teaching abroad was the hours spent outside of the classroom, having conversations with my students about their daily life, their traditions, their hopes and dreams.
And although I am very happy with the online teaching I do now, that is something I still miss about teaching in person!
How do you balance being an artist, teacher, and life outside the studio?
Haha, that is sometimes difficult, being self-employed and working from home. It’s so easy to sneak out of the studio to do groceries, load the washing machine, or go for a walk when the sun comes out.
When I was still teaching in person, it was sometimes tough. I always had to work on the weekends while my family was free and at home. That is something I definitely don’t miss. Now that I teach online only, in principle, I am free on the weekends, but when I have a deadline, I might end up in my studio on Saturday after all.
And when a workshop launches while we’re on vacation, I will have to check my emails and socials. I try to avoid that as much as possible, but when you’re a guest teacher at an event, it sometimes happens.
Also, I have a horse that needs time and attention. When I go to the stable during the day, it sometimes means I’m on my laptop in the evening. But that is ok, I love that I am able to decide for myself when to do what, that my weekends are for family, and when we go away, I try to plan things ahead so I don’t have to worry about anything work-related!
What life lessons has your creative journey taught you?
That things are sometimes just meant to be. Think with your heart, not your head. Do what makes you happy!
The beginning of my artistic career was a series of coincidences, being in the right place at the right time, and surrendering to what happened. Never in a million years could I have planned this, or foreseen where this journey would take me.
I did what made me happy without knowing the outcome, and now I’m here! I couldn’t have wished for anything better!
What advice would you give your younger artistic self?
I would tell her to have more self-confidence and believe more in herself.
I would say, “You and your art are good enough as they are, and people can take it or leave it!” But I guess you have to get to a certain age to realize that, and I don’t think she would have believed me, haha!
What project are you most proud of, and why?
I don’t think of my work in terms of pride.
There are projects I love that make me happy, or that I feel great about. Perhaps it’s also very Dutch not to be quick to say you’re proud of what you’ve achieved.
When I think about what I’m proud of, I think of my family, the wonderful adults my children have become, the bond we have, my grandson, and the amazing relationship my husband and I still have after 40 years. Ultimately, that’s all that matters!
Where can people see your work?
You can find my work on Instagram: @birgit_koopsen https://www.instagram.com/birgit_koopsen
I also have an account where I share about my daily life and building our new home for those who are interested: @colorful.life.lately https://www.instagram.com/colorful.life.lately
My school:https://birgit-koopsen-printmaking.teachable.com/
My YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/@birgitkoopsen
My website:birgitkoopsen.com
Interview posted January 2025
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