About Bastiaan Veen
I’m Bastiaan, a 22-year-old Dutch artist based in Rotterdam.
My journey into art didn’t follow a traditional route. It actually started during the pandemic, when I first picked up a brush as a way to pass the time. What began as a simple hobby quickly clicked into something much deeper, but the timing wasn't exactly on my side. As soon as I started my three-year bachelor’s degree, time became scarce. My painting practice was mostly put on hold, except for a few projects for student events.
Even with the canvases largely packed away, my mind never really left the work. For those three years, while I was focused on my studies, I was quietly developing concepts, thinking about compositions, and building a mental archive of ideas I wanted to paint when I finally had the time.
After my bachelor's, I took a year off to travel abroad, an adventure that gave me a lot of new perspective. But it was when I returned to do my Master’s in Strategic Entrepreneurship at the Rotterdam School of Management that everything came into focus. Throughout my studies, that creative pull had always been running in the background, but during my master’s, it became impossible to ignore.
The closer I got to graduating, the more I thought about what would come next. I realized that while I pursued my degree with real drive and dedication, it ultimately wasn't my true passion. It hit me that life is simply too short to not pursue the thing you genuinely love doing.
So, the moment I finished my master’s degree, I made my choice. I bypassed the expected corporate path, unpacked the ideas I’d been holding onto for years, and stepped into the studio to paint full-time.