“I stay true to myself and think that my students should too”

This part-time student, painter, and teacher sometimes faces challenges from having dyslexia. On top of that, “I also grew up in Suriname and Aruba, so sometimes I have too many languages running through my head at once. That makes it difficult sometimes to express myself quickly and concisely in words. When I’m in front of my class, sometimes I’ll draw them something and ask them to tell me in words what they see. In this way they give words to what I’m showing them and I can also check how much they understood.” Laughing, he adds: “we all learn from each other.” 

“You have to make sacrifices”

Alfrédo is a teacher of Fine Arts and Design at a VMBO in Putten. He is also studying part-time at ArtEZ Zwolle to obtain his teaching qualifications in Fine Arts and Design. In addition, he has also appeared on the TV shows Project Rembrandt and Stars on the Screen and during that time his second son was born. This is no small feat,and that’s an understatement. When asked how he manages to combine all of this, he says: “you have to make sacrifices if you want to develop in life. Luckily that often can be something really beautiful to do, but the first time juggling my son’s birth and the months after it, on top of Project Rembrandt, was really tough. You can shut yourself away for awhile and work tirelessly towards your goal, but I also wanted to be there for my family. So I painted during the hours I normally would have slept. It requires you to take an honest look at what you can handle and what you think your priorities should be.” 

Alfrédo in Sterren op het Doek. Source: NPO Omroep MAX. Click the image to watch this episode.

A good support system

Alongside having a partner who is fully supportive of his work (and who lets him sleep in on the weekends), Alfrédo has support from contact persons within his study programme. He can easily draw on help from them, “such as the study counsellor and the class representative. I also always make sure that I plan and prepare my classroom lessons well. And of course I make some room for relaxation as well, which I need in order to be able to continue what I’m doing sustainably.” 

Paint, even with strong coffee

Alfrédo seems to be one of those people who has already lived twice as much life as their age would normally imply. The painter grew up in Suriname, then moved to Aruba. There, he worked in a prison, studied at the Pabo and founded a painting school for underprivileged youth. "I could recognise myself in those kids. They had so much talent and so many things to say, but no opportunity to do anything with it. I knew what that was like. My mother raised me all by herself, there was no spare money for education.” Armed only with a pen, pencil and some paper, Alfrédo hoped to give the kids what he himself had not had growing up: "You don't need to know how to properly draw and paint. During the lockdown, I put my pupils to work using weak and strong coffee as a form of watercolour paints. I used to teach myself everything by looking up techniques and watching films. Before you can express something to someone else, you have to know how it works yourself." 

Alfrédo at the unveiling of his portrait of the Governor of Sint Maarten, Eugene Holiday

Flame, rekindled

Alfrédo moved to the Netherlands over five years ago for love. In all respects, it was a new start for him. Colleagues from his work during his time as a therapist at a psychiatric clinic for criminals encouraged him to sign up for Project Rembrandt. "I had never worked with oil paints before, but I thought of my neighbour and teacher back in Aruba. He became a successful artist by just going for it, whatever the opportunity was in front of him." Alfrédo's work was highly praised on the show and he too felt his fire for painting rekindled again. "I learned many new techniques and that made me want to go back to art school, so I could pass on my passion - this time with my own official diploma. 

Stay true to your own intent

During his teacher training, Alfrédo has also had to unlearn things. “I’ve learned that art is much more about the creative process than the result of what you’re trying to express. Thanks to my training, I can now appreciate the intricacies and inspiration from that process better. That being said, I’m still stubborn about what and how I want to express and I think that my students should be as well. It’s important to be malleable and listen to what’s around you, but it’s just as important to maintain your autonomy and stay true to your own voice."

More about the part-time course Fine Art and Design in Education in Zwolle

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