KEES DE KIEFTE , who studied at the “Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten” in Arnhem from 1954 to 1959, is as a Dutch born artist, probably better known in America than in the Netherlands. Kees, who was born at the first of March 1935, became known for his sensitive way of rendering animals and children. For that reason, he received the ”Award for the outstanding science book for children”, an American price for his illustrations in ”Jane Goodall, a biography” (written by Eleanor B. Coerr) in 1976.

In ’t echt zijn de vogels zoveel mooier”, schreef hij eens bij een illustratie in het blad ”Natuurbehoud”. In 1983, his masterwork ”101 fairy tales of the low lands” appears, in which more than hundred pen drawings are presented. He also provides, ”Animals in and around the house” (1980) with beautiful drawings. The book ”Birds in water colour” (1994) shows how the artist works. „Where do we start with….? In reality the birds are so much nicer”, did he note down at one of his own illustrations in the magazine “Natuurbehoud”. A telling sigh for some who has been drawing pictures throughout his life.
Apparently, experience does not make the job easier for him. Only after he had observed the animals in their natural habitat for quite a while, he started to put them on paper. De Kiefte adopted an easy-going attitude when it came to observation and according to him „true to nature has a different meaning to various artist’s.” When he was out in the country, he hardly made any sketches and only noted down what strikes him. Moreover, he made photo’s of shapes and structures of the landscapes. Furthermore, he had a well-developed visual memory that served him well when he made his notes and sketches. With the help of some scribbles and notes, he immediately started with detailed sketches when he came home. Once he was ready with these sketches the rough lines of the picture were fixed. His works distinguish themselves by their smoothness as they are bright and playful. Light and dark are not relevant to De Kiefte, neither a naturalistic, three dimensional effect. Also, details are not essential to him. De Kiefte preferred to see the usage of different colours and the painting style more than, for instance, the details of the feathers. With the pencil and water colour he played a game with shapes, colours and particularly lines, a game whereby excluding certain details is just as important as including them. Delicate colours, scanty put on playful, sometimes even illogically drawn lines and the relevance appointed to the white background of the paper are the ingredients for his striking and ‘sharp’ handwriting. „I am quite busy with the abstract requirements for figurative work such as division of a surface, the lines and the usage of paint”, explained De Kiefte during his time as a member of the international team of artists, that portrayed the isle of Schiermonnikeoog in 1990.

In February 1994, he belonged to a group of 58 artists that depicted the landscape of the Extremadura. This Spanish project of the ARTISTS FOR NATURE FOUNDATION resulted in the boek ”The flight of the common cranes”. His work became selected for the exhibition ”Birds in Art” at the LEIGH YAWKEY WOODSON ART MUSEUM in 1995 and 1997. Cornelis de Kiefte passes away on the 13th of January 2000 at the age of 64.