The paintings of Harrie Sijbers show happy scenes of creatures gathering outside in celebration. This joyous feeling is spread through the artist’s use of energetic colors and animated characters. Bright, vivid oranges, reds, blues, and purples give these pieces a liveliness. The artist’s characteristic angular description of these figures and their surroundings also gives these pieces a sort of dynamism. Not unlike some cubist paintings, these thick angular lines outline everything shown and in a general sense flatten things, but at the same time produce a type of energy and rhythm throughout the pieces. The theme and repetition of the stripes, found in both the characters and the environment they are in, also contributes to this rhythm established, as well as the subtle repetitive textures that can be found in various parts throughout the piece (for example, the fur on the cat’s face, or the lady’s hair). Although in some ways, these paintings retain a flatness, there is, at the same time, a sure sense of light. Within each flattened shape there is a broad, but nevertheless, definite shift in values. Highlighting certain features in a character’s face or parts of a building, the artist creates a smooth, even shift in light that remains quite even throughout each piece. Sijbers’ work suggests a joyous and harmonious atmosphere through his vivacious color scheme, enthusiastic characters, rhythmic repetition, and dynamic lines.

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