"Daring to surprise yourself": Florence tells her story
Some encounters begin in front of a painting.
In August 2025, I was exhibiting in Knokke, Belgium. A couple stopped at my stand: she had fallen for Barthélemy, he for Nymphéas. We talked for a long time and got on straight away. She was Florence.
Florence is a colourful woman, in every sense of the word. Nothing pale about her: she loves bright, bold, joyful colours. And she was already creating without saying so, knitting her own way, playing with yarns of every colour.
In January, in Ericeira, the sky was grey, so she came to bring some colour into her day: a MARY painting workshop. Two hours of letting the colours flow.
Her canvas was then shared on Instagram. A Ukrainian friend of Florence's, an artist herself, saw it. And in August, this friend insisted that Florence take the plunge.
Since then, I have seen a drawing appear on her Instagram, then two, then a whole blossoming of colourful, joyful drawings, as bright as she is. I wanted to understand. Here are her words.
Her drawings are on her Instagram: @lemeerwintgens
The interview
Florence's answers are translated from French.
Before the workshop, what place did colour and creativity have in your life?
“Colour has always been part of my life. My grandfather founded a family textile business at the end of the 19th century, and I have always lived in that very colourful world. I love knitting and inventing patterns. I hate following instructions, because I want to be the only captain on board 😁”
In Knokke, what made you stop at my stand?
“Above all, the bright colours of your work. They gave off such positive vibes 😎”
What made you want to try a MARY workshop?
“I knew you offered workshops, and the weather was gloomy: I seized the moment.”
What did you feel during those two hours of painting?
“I let my imagination wander. It was so cheerful!”
And your drawings on Instagram, how did they begin?
“In August, when my Ukrainian friend, an artist herself, insisted that I start painting.”
Today, what does drawing bring you?
“It sets me free. I stop thinking about anything, and I can stay focused like that for hours, forgetting everything!”
What would you say to someone who thinks it "isn't for them"?
“Artistic activities are for everyone. Each of us has a gift hidden somewhere inside. You just have to discover it, by daring to surprise yourself.”
And if you were a colour?
“Turquoise, because it is an optimistic and luminous colour.”
What I love about Florence's story is that it doesn't come down to a single door. There were her yarns and the patterns she invents, an afternoon at the studio, a canvas shared on Instagram, and a friend who saw it and insisted. Each of these little doors mattered.
Because the spark doesn't always come the very first time. Often, a workshop doesn't change everything at once: it opens a path. You leave with a colour, a feeling, a small wish, and it quietly does its work. Months later, something opens. It is this path towards opening up that matters, far more than the spark.
And her words touch me deeply: "daring to surprise yourself". That is exactly what I wish for everyone who comes through the studio door. You don't need to know how, you don't need to be an artist: just let yourself be surprised.
I am happy to have contributed, in my own way, to this new form of expression for Florence.
Thank you, Florence, for your trust, your joy and all that turquoise.
Take good care of yourself,
With all my tenderness,
Lenon
MARY, Make Art Reconnect Yourself, Ericeira
