Inspiration behind the art · 11 June 2026

Where fairies live: the story of my fairy house paintings

Come with me to discover the Fairy House painting series (a sunflower house, a mushroom village, and a tree stump house), and I’ll tell you the story of how these tiny, magical homes came to life.

As a child I was always picturing little animals, or little creatures like gnomes and fairies, hiding from the rain under the bushes. I pictured them hiding, seeking shelter, feeling safe and protected by nature - I wanted to feel like that!

As an adult I still love all things miniature. I built a miniature diorama in a shoebox once (“kijkdoos” in Dutch), for a friend. I made a little yoga studio, because she loved yoga so much. It was so much fun to make.

Miniature room inside a shoebox ("kijkdoos"), lit by a warm lamp, with tiny houseplants, a yoga mat, and a wooden floor — The miniature yoga studio I built in a shoebox for a friend.

That miniature feeling makes its way into my paintings as well. This year I made a series of paintings, the “Fairy Houses”, I’m very proud of.

Watercolor painting of a fairy house built into a mossy tree stump, with a glowing round window and ferns growing from the top — The resident of Mossy Hollow is out at the moment... Maybe she is foraging for mushrooms in the forest?

When I look at them now, I see they speak about my desire to live close to nature. Almost like one. Fairies live close to nature, because they are created from nature, and they create with nature together. On the other hand, I love drawing places (houses, cottages), because I love feeling at home, too. When I'm feeling really anxious, sometimes what helps me is visualizing my dream cozy cottage, a place where I feel really safe and at home.

Watercolor painting of a fairy house with a sunflower petal roof, surrounded by a cottage garden full of wildflowers. — Sunflower Fairy House. This painting captures that dreamy feeling of a warm summer's day in a garden full of flowers. Where would the resident be, napping somewhere in the grass maybe?

The fairy house paintings all speak (or rather whisper…) about those feelings to me: feeling at home, magic in tiny worlds, being sheltered by nature, living close to nature. But that’s what I see in them now, I didn’t think of that beforehand. I feel like they were created very naturally. I just looked at inspiration (nature, other people’s artwork), and I drew lots of fairy houses into natural things, like acorns, mushrooms, clusters of ferns, trees, pumpkins, etc. And then the ideas for my own fairy houses were born.

A sketchbook spread filled with drawings of fairy houses in mushrooms, ferns, flowers and acorns. — My sketchbook

What I like about the paintings is that they leave some kind of mystery. The houses tell a lot about them - but you're still wondering about the inhabitants, their life, their appearance, how they choose to spend their time, who they are friends with.

Watercolor painting of three mushroom fairy houses nestled in green moss, with a tiny vegetable patch and stone path — Three cosy mushroom houses sit side by side, sharing a little vegetable patch with rosemary and rhubarb.

The same applies to you: Your house tells a lot about you. How would you like to feel, and does your house reflect that? Can you let your house give you the shelter and the comfort you crave? I don't mean you need to have it clean all the time. Because let's be honest, those fairies probably make a big mess inside all the time! And, obviously, the size of your house doesn't matter at all… ;)

Go get cozy! Or order an art print to make your home even more beautiful here.