Maria van Lieshout grew up in Holland. Her family had five people, seven bicycles and a Citroën Deux Cheveaux, which is basically an umbrella on four wheels, even though it survived many family camping trips to France.
Their house had one bathroom; their supermarket sold one type of peanut butter,
her bedroom was the size of an American closet and their fridge was the size of
an American cereal box. Well, almost…
Some of Maria’s favorite things remind her of her childhood in Holland:
cycling through the city, cows, a cup of hot tea, fresh flowers…
Dutch artists that influence Maria’s work are designer Marcel Wanders,
illustrator Dick Bruna and painter Willem de Kooning. Their work is
unexpected, expressive and emotional. They are masters in the art
of saying more with less.
This is what Maria aspires to - capture energy and emotion with a few
lines and colors.
Maria and her husband Peter live in a 100-year old Victorian in San Francisco with creaky floors, where Maria has her studio and works full-time on children’s books.