Peinture de Lumière
Capturer la beauté magique du monde
Let me introduce myself, my name is Jan van Schooten. I was born as a third-generation photographer on the 26th of July 1964 in the Netherlands, so I am Dutch. I finished high school in Canada in the mid-’80s and took a photographer’s education back here in the Netherlands, getting my degree in 1990.
When I was a child/young adult, I loved drawing and painting and never considered photography as an art form—just a registration or reproduction of what already exists. I started my career as an analog commercial photographer, but within 10 years, digital manipulation of images became the norm, and the art of being a real photographer became obsolete. Manipulation of photos became mainstream. These days, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, my job as a photographer changes fast.
Jan van Schooten | Safdarjung
Photography has been around for 200 years. The word is derived from the Greek language, and it literally means “drawing of light.” Peinture de Lumière means just that—a drawing or painting with light. And that just ties right in with my childhood love of making real art.
I started experimenting with movement and long exposures around 2000, just for fun, and made several shots of my daughter that I was very pleased with. In the years that followed, I shot some pictures in this style, but I was more focused on my regular commercial day-to-day photography and getting food on the table.
Until late 2021, I had just started dating Dorine, and we went for a short trip to Luxembourg. It was in the middle of the COVID pandemic, and I was bored with just regular photos. I wanted to produce a different kind of image, something that would stir my imagination. She immediately loved the outcome of my experimental ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) photos, and my first fan was born!
So, just for fun, we started what we now call the Peinture de Lumière pictures during our trips around the world. I want images that fuel my imagination. It’s like reading a book instead of seeing the movie! I want the viewer to dream away at my pictures, fantasizing and seeing their own story in my images. I want to provoke imagination.
Jan van Schooten | Rouen
I’ll tell you a little story about how this worked for me. In early 2024, I wanted to do some street photography just to sharpen up my skills, but I was very disappointed by the results. It was the same as all those pictures on Instagram, and it didn’t have my own feel. After a long and disappointing day of shooting, my girlfriend and I went out for dinner and came across a beautifully lit wet street. We shot some Peinture pictures, and I instantly fell in love with the result. Dorine said, “I saw that spark in your eyes when you saw the result, and that is what you should go after—don’t try to copy other people’s work. Make your own art.”
The funny thing about this particular street shot is that I sold this image at my very first exposition.
In August of this year, a long-time friend, art director, and AI artist, Leon Baaren, called about an exposition and mentioned there was room for other artists to showcase their work. So, I jumped at this opportunity! At this exposition, I got a lot of positive feedback and was able to sell three of my artworks and two photo books filled with Peinture de Lumière art.
In our fast and ever-changing world, new media comes and goes. Just as the Impressionist art form started when photography came to rise (there was no longer a need for artists who could paint or draw real-life situations), I see my Peinture de Lumière art the same way. AI will be able to produce real-life commercial images in no time without the expensive costs of a real photographer, props, models, locations, waiting for good weather or light, and so on.
For me, letting go of all those stringent rules for photography feels like freedom—an escape, like those Impressionist artists felt at the end of the 19th century.
Dorine and I travel a lot, and we want to share with people what we encountered in the world—the beauty and the feeling of a fleeting moment. My muse is usually the main subject, photographed from behind because the image conveys what we see and feel at that moment.
Jan van Schooten | Khari Baoli
Cross Town Traffic (2024) was a very busy intersection at the gate of Jaipur, India, with lots of traffic, noise, and obstacles to conquer.
Khari Baoli (2024) is a chaotic spice market in New Delhi—wall-to-wall people, shops, and the smell of exotic spices filling the air.
Rouen (2022) is the Grand Horloge underpass in the middle of the pandemic on a peaceful, sunny, but chilly day in January.
Shiva (2022), the god of creation and destruction, is a picture at the Hindu flower market in Mumbai.
Safdarjung (2024) is the entrance to the mausoleum of the emperor Safdarjung, with other people on the left and right.
Jan van Schooten | Cross town traffic
My discipline is as follows: we shoot the images as we walk through beautiful and inspiring places. I develop my images in Capture One, enhance the colors and contrast, and sometimes manipulate the image if there are unwanted items or elements in Photoshop. Then I get it printed on high-grade textile canvas on a wooden frame so it looks like a real painting.
In conclusion, I want to thank my girlfriend Dorine. She is truly my muse; she inspires, motivates, and believes in me and us producing beautiful art.
Jan van Schooten | Shiva
Website | Instagram
Leave a Reply