Maarten is a mixed-media visual artist. The figures he envisions, whether in painting or in three-dimensional form, are fictional characters born from his surroundings, imagination, and memories. They are not portraits of real people, but invented personalities that gradually take shape during the creative process. With his work, he attempts to capture a fictional world in which he finds peace and into which he invites the viewer to step with him. This romanticized world is often quiet, introspective, and slightly melancholic, in which the characters appear to be in moments of contemplation or gentle detachment. By working with various media, from painting to sculptural forms, these figures acquire both a visual and a physical presence. Together, they form fragments of a personal visual language in which imagination, memory, and observation converge, allowing both creator and viewer to briefly escape from everyday reality.