Connecting with Soulful Creatives

Over cake, coffee, and heartfelt conversations...

Sometimes you meet someone online and instantly feel like you’ve known them for a long time. You’ve shared messages, creative sparks, and little glimpses of life — and even without meeting in person, a quiet friendship blooms.

That’s how it’s been with the talented Madelon of Artwork by Madelon.

ArtworkbyMadelon

In July, she became my very first visitor at my new Utrecht studio. We spent a morning with coffee, cake, and conversations that wandered from art to nature to life’s deeper rhythms. It felt less like a first visit and more like picking up a thread we’d been weaving for years.

We first connected on Instagram a few years ago — one of those unexpected follows that grew into a genuine bond. I joined one of her peaceful abstract watercolor workshops, crossed paths again at Creative Life, and have cheered her work from afar ever since.

Seeing her here, in my own creative space, reminded me how important face-to-face moments have become. So as summer winds down, I want to share our conversation — about flowers, faith, healing through art, and the joy of creating from the soul.

Interview with Madelon — Artwork by Madelon

1. Madelon, you’ve been in the creative space for a while now. Can you share how Artwork by Madelon first came to life? What sparked the beginning of your journey as an artist?

It started when I lost my mother in 2009 and needed time for myself. I began painting once every two weeks, simply as a form of therapy. Over time, people started buying my work, which sparked a desire to do more with my art. I was often told that my work brought peace, hope, and joy, so in 2020 I started my own art business. Nature — with its strength and vulnerability — has always inspired me, and I try to translate its joy, hope, warmth, and healing into my work.

2. What do you love most about your creative process and the art you make? Is there something special that keeps inspiring you again and again?

The healing power of the painting process, and the inner growth it holds, is what makes me enjoy it so much. Also, the hope, warmth, and beauty of nature — which I get to experience and share — always bring me back to my easel.

3. Both of us create from the heart — something soulful and honest. What does “creating from the soul” mean to you?

For me, it means returning to the Source within myself — asking, “Who am I, and what do I have to bring or share?” For me, that Source is Jesus. In Him, I live and grow. It’s a kind of collaboration in which I flourish. ...It’s a kind of interplay in which I grow and flourish, and from which I can give back again.

4. I already had a feeling, since we’ve been connected on Instagram for a while now, that we both share a deep love for blooms and nature. What’s your favorite flower — and what’s one emotion you often feel when you’re surrounded by nature?

Yes, absolutely. Flowers, for me, represent vitality, femininity, growth, vulnerability, beauty, and strength. Nature makes me feel that there is so much more — something greater than myself. It makes me feel “small” in the best sense of the word, wrapped in the feeling of being loved by nature. Above all, it gives me great energy and peace.

5. How do you stay creatively nourished when life gets busy or overwhelming?

By going out into nature, meditating (which I do almost every day), working in a sketchbook to stay in the flow, listening to music, and creative therapy.

6. If your art could speak, what message would you hope it gives to someone who brings it into their home?

I would like my work to convey hope, warmth, joy, and beauty.

7. It’s July, and while some people are off traveling or slowing down for summer, others are soaking up simple moments at home. How do you plan to cherish this summer season? And what’s one small way we can all connect with nature more deeply this time of year?

Hop on your bike and visit a picking garden — I really enjoy that. This year, I also get to travel abroad again, to Brittany! I’m looking forward to the sea and the peace. I also love being in my own garden with a good book and some chocolate. Walking, cycling, and picnicking in nature are also favorites — preferably without a set destination, just wandering and “being.” Visiting a museum or city also makes me happy (though I can’t handle too much busyness).

8. You’re not just an inspiring artist — you’ve also supported my journey at XiXi over the years through kind messages, shares, and even purchases. That means the world to me. If you could choose one piece from XiXi, what would it be and why?

It’s so wonderful to walk alongside fellow artists like you — we really need each other, to connect and encourage one another in our processes. I’m grateful that we met through Instagram. I own several of your works, and I think your botanical art prints are fantastic. For example, Red Emperor and Japanese Maple — they’re calm, serene, and simple. Just stylish, like a warm and soft touch in my home.

Closing Thoughts

Spending that morning with Madelon reminded me that creativity doesn’t just live in our work — it lives in the connections we nurture along the way. Over coffee and cake, in shared stories and quiet laughter, I felt that same gentle inspiration her art carries: warmth, beauty, and a deep respect for nature’s rhythms.

Whether we’re creating in our studios, walking through a garden, or simply exchanging words across a screen, these moments of connection feed the soul. I hope our conversation encourages you to seek out your own creative kindred spirits, to step outside into nature, and to notice the beauty waiting in the everyday.

You can explore more of Madelon’s beautiful work here:

https://artwork-by-madelon.nl/

https://www.instagram.com/artworkbymadelon/

Here’s to art, creativity, friendship, and the small, sweet moments that keep us inspired.