Late last year we visited Dutch artist Irene de Klerk Wolters in her Copenhagen atelier. It was a golden morning, a few months before she and her family were due to move back to the Netherlands. We were instantly taken by Irene’s warmth. She greeted us with open arms and the best homemade tarts and coffee, welcoming us into the home she shared with her husband and two teenage sons, Beau and Pepijn, as if it were ours too. Her CPH studio was located inside her home, a sun-drenched apartment filled with a charming and harmonious mix of modern and vintage furniture.

// Summer V-Neck Sweater // Dove

Irene has an eye for this—intuitively bringing a mix of things together in a way that creates order and balance. We see it reflected in not only her home, but her paintings too. Her artworks capture the same tranquility and warmth that she exudes. "What is important to me is to begin by choosing the colors which give softness to the soul,” she explains. To her, this is the key to creating harmony in her paintings to ensure they contribute to building a warm atmosphere within a space without taking over it.

Her path to painting was an unexpected one. She worked as a lawyer but was painting in her spare time. When that started gaining interest and people were asking her if they could purchase her works, she started wondering whether this was where her heart lay instead. After 15 years in law, she shifted gears to pursue painting full-time and never looked back. Watching Irene move about in her studio with ease that day, painting away quietly, meditatively, it was apparent to us that she was exactly where she was meant to be.

Instagram @irenedkw