• Acrylics on canvas
• Measurements: 80 x 60 cm
• Part of my ‘Alopecia’-series

The story behind this painting:

Due to the autoimmune disease Alopecia, my appearance changed a lot: I was bald, had no eyebrows, no eyelashes…It was hard to accept, but at a certain point I was eventually at peace with it. After a period of struggling with my self-acceptance, beauty ideals and self-confidence, I was OK with it. I painted myself, including all of my imperfections: my baldness, my scars, my birthmarks, but also my scoliosis… It’s all there and I can embrace it. This is who I am and I’m proud of it!

Next to self-acceptance there are more things that have brought me where I am now: changes in nutrition, relaxation exercises, yoga en most of all following my hart. Now I have more confidence and…hair! It looks like I’m slowly recovering from my autoimmune disease and I’m incredibly thankful for that. Painting my experiences with the disease was incredibly valuable and an absolute part of processing the emotions.