FAS2025 | Perfectionisme

Marcella and Joëlla are completely
different.

But they both love to paint.

Today they are painting a
self-portrait.

Under supervision of painter
Koos de Vries.

Perfectionism

You are laughing in every one of these.
Yes, I love smiling.

I think you have to let go that it should
be something perfect.

You just have to begin, I wouldn't start
with black, because then it can get...

- Dark.
Yes, dark. And then it's hard to mix it.

But if you start with a lighter colour...

- You start with the lighter colours.
Form light to dark, right?

Exactly, that's what I would do.

And I would also keep in mind, that you can't fail.
You can always let it dry paint over it.

Nine out of ten of my paintings fail. That's just the process.

- Yeah, because I redid those flamingo's
four times too.

Exactly, you don't have to do everything
all at once.

Just accept it when something goes wrong,
- Where do we put the paint?

Right here.

And the background, what do you want
to do with that? I can see some clouds.

Yes, I want to put flowers there.
- Flowers?

Yes, like those standing flowers coming from the ground.
Like a tulip idea.

Only, I forgot what tulips look like.

How are you getting on, Marcella?
- Yeah, it's going well, yeah.

Do you want to take a sneak peek at mine,
Marcella? You can sneak a peek.

Oh, yours is also cool, it's pretty great.
- Yeah, right.

You make pink with these two, right?
Like beige or skin colour.

You want something like this, right?
- Yes, a little like that, yes.

My brother went to an art school
in Amsterdam.

Really? In Amsterdam?
To the Rietveld Academy?

Yeah, my brother went there. But he did not like it, because his boss, the teacher was very focused and strict, very strict.

If you made just one mistake, you had to
start all over with sculpting the clay.

Look! I have already finished one part of
the sky, Koos.

I'm proud of it, and I'm not the only
one. I think the one behind me is also proud. - Absolutely!

It's doesn't have to be too neat, right?
- Yes, that's true.

I'm just a bit perfectionistic, or however
you say it.

What I do, is never good enough,
it can always be better.

Or, if someone says:
'Wow, that's really pretty!'

I can only see the mistakes and what's
wrong with it.

It's never good enough,
let's put it that way.

I recognize that feeling, I get it too.

Yeah? On the one hand, that's nice,
because you always want to do well.

On the other hand, it can be difficult.

Sometimes you just have to accept that
it's finished and it's not getting better.

Yes, this is pretty cool.
- Yeah, right? You get a lot more...

Colours.
- Yes, more colours in one space.

Like this is cool.
- Yes.

Beautiful. Perfect.

Koos! Look! I made that.
- Can I see?

It's a gradient.
- Oh, that's awesome, the clouds are really cool.

Koos, I have a question.
- Yes.

What about my teeth? How do I colour those
in?

- Yes, it's already white.
Exactly, what can you do with that?

- Maybe you don't have to do anything.
Or look again at the end.

Yeah, because it's already white, and
white on white isn't pretty either, get it?

- Yes, it's not really usefull.
Exactly.

But right here, it's more just
white to black. That's the way I see it.

- Oh no! For me, it goes from
black to grey, but I get what you mean.

It's more of just dark to light, instead
of a gradient.

- Yeah, no, I get what you mean.

We are just perfectionists,
right, Marcella?

- It's never good enough for me, so it
doesn't matter how I make it.

Yeah, I have that too.

Koos! Look! Do you want to compare?

- Yes very nicely done.
Nice, right?

Beautifully made, you are really good at
this. It's getting really cool Marcella.

Thank you.
I really like this colour.

What else do I have to say about it?

Yeah, well I think it's pretty awesome.
Well done, really well done.

The groundwork is there, let's say that.

I think it's really beautiful. It looks
like how you are. It's you.

There's still a lot to do, but that's a
nice challenge.

They're both pretty, right?
- Yeah, they're equally pretty.

That's you and that's me, you can see that
immediately.

I made rainbows, and it's romantic because
I love my boyfriend.

Which is why I also made a little heart
for him.

And what day it is today, because we got
to see each other again today.

Yeah, it also just suits you.
- Yes.

And also the smiling smiley, because I'm
almost always happy.

Yes, you are always happy.
- Yes.

When I don't look happy, you know
immediately there's something wrong.

When I look like this, you know there's
something wrong.

But when I look like this, then you know
there's nothing wrong.

Yes, you captured that pretty well.
- And it's just happy, happy colours.

Yes, it suits you well I think.
- Yes, I really think so too.

Director & Edit: Allard de Witte
Camera: Delphi Bruggeman

Made possible by:

Marcella, get over here.

It was pretty fun.
- Yes, it was really fun.