About Wim van der Meij

I was born in 1949 and raised in the “Bollenstreek”; the region where the tulips are grown. Drawing had been my lifelong hobby, but after my first etching-lessons in 1977 it became my passion. I followed evening-courses at the Royal Academy in The Hague. In january 1986 I quit my job and started my career as a full-time artist.

In 1988 I moved from the West of the Netherlands to the eastern part, which is relatively less crowded. In the center of Zutphen, a medieval town on the river IJssel, I bought an eighteenth century house.

I took part in exhibitions in many places in Holland and did commissions for companies and institutions.

Here I am offering H.R.H. Queen Beatrix one of my etchings. Photo: Han Hillige

I can regularly be found on the Art Market Het Spui in Amsterdam on Sundays. For more information about the exact dates, visit my homepage. This market is frequented by people from all over the world and subsequently my etching have found owners in a lot of different countries.

I find the subjects for my etchings in the Dutch landscape. Along its rivers and canals and in its old towns I make sketches and photographs. In my studio I draw what I’ve seen with a fine steel point onto the polished surface of a copperplate which has been covered with a thin layer of wax. When the drawing is finished the plate is immersed in acid which bites away the copper where the needle has scratched away the wax. After removal of the wax the plate is ready for printing.