Yasja Ligtelijn

1991 is the year I was born on a houseboat in Amsterdam. When I was thirteen years old, me and my family moved to a totally different part of the Netherlands; a small village in the middle of nature, between forests and hills.
After secondary school, I took Artistic Education in Belgium and slept during the week in a strict boarding school based in an old monastery. After that period, I went to the Art Academy in Maastricht and graduated in 2016 as an illustrative designer and in 2017 I started my company Studio Yasja.

Diversity and enthusiasm are the two key words that describe my personality and work. I express myself in multiple creative forms: paintings, murals, (digital) illustrations and even three-dimensional work, whether it’s portraits, character designs, landscapes or inventing stories. Yasja is not just one thing, it is a mix of all kinds of different aspects. The coherence in my work is that they are mostly very atmospheric: it can be mystical, colourful, dark, vibrant or all at the same time.

As a fulltime artist, most of my time I am working on things like writing projects and concepts, designing, working on commissions and creating art for myself. In my free time I’m `playing outside’ with my beloved ones. Mountainbiking, climbing, skating, hiking in nature and discover new places are for me the ways to get new inspiration.

Picture credits: Ben Nienhuis