
Henk van de Grift
Over Henk van de Grift
I am born in IJsselmuiden, a town in the Netherlands.
When I was 3 years old, it was discovered that I was very hard hearing and send to a school for the deaf in the city of Groningen, where I learned to speak, read and write. At the age of 6, when being able to do those 3 things, I came back home and continued at a regular elementary school.
But before the end of elementary school, it was also discovered that my eyesight was getting bad and I wore glasses of -11 when I was 13 years old.
Due to my bad hearing, I have always been very focused on visual expression.From the age of 12 I made a lot of drawings with pen and pencil and always carried them with me.
From the age of 28 I have done a lot of airbrush work. not just on canvas, but also on cars, motorbikes and surfboards.
When I was 32, I got the diagnosis Usher syndrome with the prospect of becoming both blind and deaf. My world collapsed.
From the age of 34 I stopped making art for about 25 years because I did not know how I could express myself anymore. But since 2015 I found a new way to do that. A lot of my work can be seen on my website.