Biography of Martin Sijbesma
It was in the year 1968 that I was born in a place called Hartwerd in the province of Friesland (Fryslan) in the Netherlands.
My school career started at the local primary school followed by a training in the trade of professional painting at the Bosward Technical College. Following that, my further training was mostly self-taught in nature.

Realism of the 17th and 18th century
The choice to change to art in the form of paintings happened in the year 1986, it was realism of the 17th and 18th century that fascinated me most of all. The character of my work is warm, romantic and is of a quitted quality through the means of colour and composition. My speciality is still life, often with antic objects, vegetables or fruit. I am also fond of painting details of interiors found in old buildings as well as little children’s shoes. My paintings are exclusively composed in the so called glace-technique (layer upon layer) upon a wooden panel.

Kubaard
In the year 1989 I moved to the rustic village of Kubaard and have my residence in a small and quaint, formerly Dutch Reformed Church, with the studio situated high up in the building.