The Artist:

Jacobus Johannes van Ellinckhuijzen (better known as Koos) was the first-born of direct Dutch decent.  He took his first breath, in Pretoria, South Africa, in September 20, 1942, whilst the WWII was in full swing.  Growing up in a very conservative, depressed, religious environment,  as a young boy, Koos made up his mind to avoid religion and politics , as he perceives  both are  used to exclusively enslave people.  After resigning from the Military after almost 11years of service and 4 separate wars, he joined the then Dept. of Nature Conservation & Tourism in South West Africa (Namibia today) as a ranger and with no formal art training executed four paintings in brush which proved to be the door into surrealistic future.

In 1979 Koos took the permanent step into the; one small brush stroke for a man, one giant leap for enlightening the minds of many with his imagery.  Since then, Koos van Ellinckhuijzen  was  a freelance artist in Swakopmund and now, in 2010, just returned from Windhoek and in his own words: ‘It feels good to back home again”.  He became well known in the art of stamp design.  His paintings deals with the Namib Desert and "space art " in a realistic or surrealistic style, van Ellinckhuijzen used mostly watercolor or oil paints, acrylic, gouache, or airbrush . He has exhibited his work in Namibia, South Africa, USA and partnered in the Gutzuf exhibition in the Crimean Peninsula of the Former Soviet Union in 1990. The art critic Adelheid Lilienthal wrote about Koos van Ellinckhuijzen in her book "Art in Namibia" (1997): "A special feature of his stamp designs - in fact all of his paintings - are scientifically accurate, clean drawings and watercolor techniques.

He uses impeccable, clear shadow and brings transparency to him to be typical of the Namib: Here, objects are transparent over time, they lose their material substance, they become pure visions of reality. "Van Ellinckhuijzens "Namib mirage" is one of his early and specific work. With M.C. Escher, Rene Magritte and Albert Einstein who all left their legacies in Koos’ soul, his journey to find  the fourth dimension, Time, still continues through his 3 dimensional paintings. His 

own art collection and memorabilia from all over the world make a permanent exhibition here in his Swakopmund Studio.


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