Onno Boerwinkel (Middelburg, 1950) graduated in 1975 from the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. After initially working on large oil paintings, he turned to pastel in the mid-1980s. With his distinctive sgraffito technique—building up layers of pastel, fixing, scratching, and smudging—he succeeds in uniting painting and drawing in a unique way. The result is a vibrant, layered image in which loose contours form his unmistakable signature. One of Boerwinkel’s recurring themes is the depiction of quiet moments from Mediterranean life. Italy and France in particular are an inexhaustible source of inspiration: places where time seems to have stood still and traditions remain tangible. His work breathes a romantic connection with the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while at the same time being firmly rooted in the present. Boerwinkel captures everyday scenes with a keen eye for atmosphere, color, and light. He invites the viewer to pause and reflect on what is both timeless and familiar, leaving a lasting impression time and again.