Want to know a bit more about me?

My name is Marieke Meijs. I was born in 1979, the youngest of five children. I grew up in a small village near Utrecht (The Netherlands). Aged 21 I moved up North, to live with my boyfriend.

I fell in love with surfing!

Moving up north meant the start of a new life, a new location, new friends. Many of those friends were surfers. So I tried it. I fell in love with it. I’ve not just embraced the sport, but the lifestyle that comes with it too. And I wouldn’t change that for the world.

I was introduced to painting at a very young age. My father is an artist and used to teach drawing classes. That inspired me in my younger years. After that I have struggled and messed around on my own for several years and I have learned a lot from that. But since 2014 I have been taking private lessons with my father. It feels really good to share that passion for art with him.

It’s true what they say: Surfing is a way of life.

So obviously it is one of my big inspirations when it comes to painting. For me there are a lot of similarities between surfing and painting. For example the feeling of complete freedom I experience when I am out in the ocean catching waves. I get the same feeling when I am working on a piece. The rest of the world is miles away. The only thing that matters is the here and now. I can lose myself while painting. To me it’s a beautiful way of expressing myself.

It is important to me that though SurfArt is now a full time business it does not lose its authenticity. No mass production but handcrafted and created with love and care. The paintings will always be the basis, the starting point. And from that basis my creations can be translated to clothing, furniture and other feel good products. Products I would like to have myself, created with materials that make me feel good. And hopefully you will feel the same.