Petra - Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands

My name is Petra, and for art and the web I carry the name POBSB. I live in Tilburg, a city in the south of the Netherlands, half an hour drive away from Antwerp, with my husband and my dog called Ventje (which is Dutch for ‘little guy’). I used to be an IT-professional, but 10 years ago I took a sabbatical leave for half a year. I enjoyed it so much that I prolonged it for another 6 months and after that I quit my job and never went back.

My art started in the 80’s with ink and rice paper, sumi-E, (trying) to do Japanese Calligraphy. I was and still am fascinated by this technique; the power of a single brushstroke is overwhelming. I started to paint in the old eastern tradition, but being European in this day and age I had to find my own way. The technique stayed the same, but I don’t do the traditional images. Since 2000 I do live model drawing once a week, which I wouldn’t miss for the world.  Please check out my POSB website for my art.

I must confess that I started photography because it’s digital. I love seeing the result immediately and being able to play with it on the computer. I always carry my camera, and take pictures everyday and then spend (too much) time on the computer viewing and processing. I feel that I am still searching for my own ‘handwriting’ in photography. More than just a pretty picture, I want to make a POBSB-picture.

In 2009 I joined a photo group called TEMA . This group is all about making artistic series - 2 or 4 pictures telling a story, showing a mood.

On my photoblog, however I like to post new pictures, usually not older than a week or two, and because of the worldwide aspect of the web, I like to show where I live, everyday life around me. More like a journal.

Computer art brought together my love for drawing, painting, photography and IT. It is art the other way around, first you concentrate on the image and after that you decide: how big; on paper, canvas, wallpaper or glass, maybe a t-shirt. So many possibilities!

I am honoured to be a collaborator and strive to share with you the everyday things that make me tick.