Artist: GeerArt Willems

Gerard Willems – or as he signs his work: GeerART – grew up on Wieringen, at the northern tip of North Holland. Close to the dike, surrounded by birds and wind. As a child, he was a dreamer. Someone who could disappear into thoughts, into shapes, into simply observing. That dreamy nature suited being outdoors, drawing and imagining, but less so school. School felt like obligation. And obligation created tension.

Drawing was always there. His mother was forward-thinking and created a special corner at home where he could puzzle and draw. As a teenager, he drew faces – in all shapes, sizes and eccentricities. Yet art slowly faded into the background. Music took over: at thirteen he started playing the clarinet, later performing for years in bands and with a wind orchestra. Creativity was still present, just not along the path he truly wanted.

After secondary school, he attended teacher training college. Not because he wanted to, but because art academy was said to “not put bread on the table.” He completed the program, mainly for his father, and ended up working in education. That’s where things went wrong. Two burnouts followed. Years of sick leave, therapy, mounting tension. At home were three young children, a relationship that required a lot, and little space for rest. Alcohol became a way to soften the sharp edges of life. Not every day, but always present when there was something to celebrate – or to forget.

After his divorce in 2015, Gerard entered addiction care. Heavy years followed: depression, a suicide attempt, periods without a permanent home. Yet he kept moving. Step by step. For a year now, he has stopped drinking. His relationship with alcohol is over. “That chapter is closed.”

In 2023, art returned to his life through daytime activities with Helen Roeten. Not as performance, not as therapy-with-a-goal, but as space. This was followed by his own studio, connected to a social support program with a large gallery. Painting and drawing give him back something he had long lost: the feeling of being a child. No rules. No strictness. Just observing, feeling and creating.

His way of working is intuitive. He starts with a background full of wild colors, layered and intertwined. Then he sits and looks. Stares. And almost immediately, shapes appear: creatures, faces, small thoughts. “They present themselves,” he says. He sees what is already there and brings it forward.

Today, Gerard has a good relationship with his three children. Life still fluctuates, but the direction is right. And through his art, he contributes something to others.

When he heard that his design would become socks – socks that are not only warm for the wearer, but also for someone without a home – it moved him.

“I find it very beautiful that people receive warm feet. That in my own way, I get to contribute to that.”