Next, she set her sight on America. Ultimately her dreams would become reality, when, in 1987, she was able to immigrate to the USA. She married in 1990 and, together with her husband Bud, they ran a small dental laboratory. Never away from her easel, Van Hawk spent years studying the history of art and the work of countless artists from all over the world.
Mesmerized by an expressionistic portrait of Chaim Soutine, and by the leading figures of American abstract expressionism such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, Van Hawk devoted a few years of her work to experiment with expressionistic portraiture as well as abstract expressionism. Her work gained recognition among gallery owners and she was represented by Graves Country Gallery in California and at Daniela’s Gallery in Scottsdale AZ, where she also had a solo exhibition in May of 2008.
Currently, the artist practices abstract expressionism, still with hints and traces of the human figure, as she navigates her big canvases with gestural brush strokes and a rich colorful palette. More determined than ever, Vanda demonstrates her individual style, artistic maturity and never restrains herself from experimenting with the new and unknown.
