Martin-Jan van Santen (b.1968) graduated in 1992 at the Constantijn Huygens School of Art in Kampen. After a period of working and living in different places, he eventually returned to Kampen, where he is active as an independent painter. After a career spanning ten years, working as an animation artist, draughtsman and director, in 2007 he finally decided to concentrate on painting, something which for a long time he had aspired to do. The theme he explored for many years, and which still fascinates him, the human figure, remains a key part of his artistic output, but the subject matter evolved. Landscapes, still lives, portraits and many other motives, difficult to categorize, became a source of inspiration. Light and color are of the essence, and the texture of paint itself is crucial to the final result, never betraying his distinctive hand.