My name is Emma Brands, and I'm a self-taught contemporary painter based in Amsterdam.

How it all began
I started painting in 2019 while living in Barcelona. Unexpectedly, it felt like something new wanted to move through me — and painting became the way to give it space. As I devoted more time to it, my work as a chef and food stylist slowed down. It wasn't automatic, but it soon became clear this was the path I needed to follow.

The world I paint
I've always been curious about the way you look at something, keep looking, and suddenly see it differently — as if you're trying to see through it, to what's behind. Photography was where I first explored that: how I perceive reality, how a composition can shift what you notice. It's still where most paintings begin.

Sometimes I paint directly from a photograph. Sometimes it's a mix of several. Sometimes feeling or imagination takes over and the photo is just a starting point. Either way, what comes out feels like a memory — not of a specific event, but of something that seems to exist somewhere else and keeps finding its way back. A fictional world that feels strangely familiar, as if I've known it before.

Materials and technique
I started mostly on paper and wood. Over time, the technical side became part of the exploration too. I move between materials — collage, acrylic on canvas, the occasional mural. The studio is a place for experimentation.

I work from questions, and I let the process stay open. What interests me most is following the thread that pulls me from one place to another, not knowing exactly where it leads, but trusting that it's worth following.