Hello everyone,

Let me introduce myself, my name is Bas Schippers. I'm a 31 year old guy from the Netherlands, Enschede to be more precise. I am currently living in Groningen.

I have done a lot of freelancing, non paid internships and also some lousy jobs in the past. From working at an assembly line, to working at the costume department of a theater production company. Which were all good for the time being but didnt turn out to do the trick for me in the long run.

At age 25 applied for art school and never looked back. I now have my bachelor's and masters of fine arts degree! I am a figurative painter exploring topics like vulnerability and masculinity. I would love to talk about art with you, yours mine or others!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on couchsurfing for a few reasons, which I am going to list below:

- Think outside of the box (literally)
I live in small appartment, even though I dont technically need any more space after a while walls do start to close in a little. This really supresses my creativity and I havent gotten around to painting and drawing these last few weeks. Conclusion, I need to get out of these 4 walls (the box) and into the world a bit more!

-Meeting new people
I love having real interactions/connections with new people, listening to their stories and learning from them and ofcourse hopefully also learn them a thing or two. I tend to have this especially with foreign people, because their culture gives them different insights and opinions which makes for rich and beautiful conversations.

-Seeing the world
Oh my, has travelling always been a dream of mine, but because art is not the easiest field to make money in saving up a LOT of money hasnt been in the cards for me yet. When I heard about Couchsurfing I was immediately intrigued. Free spirited people, from all kinds of different countries, travelling around or/and opening their homes up to people to share experiences with. I new from that moment that I wanted to be a part of that!

Interests

My interests are all kind of creative:

I love drawing, painting, writing songs, singing, dancing and cooking.
If I can express my creativity through something and make other people happy with that. Worth mentioning I love to make drawings, meals and paintings for people!

• culture
• writing
• singing
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• languages
• gym

Music, Movies, and Books

I love all kinds of music, but lately I have been listening to a lot of 80's rock, country, rhythm and blues and lots more. Apart from that I can actually appreciate every genre of music, from heavy metal to jazz, from opera to reggae.

Moviewise im really into fantasy movies and action comedies (especially the bad ones)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

It might sound pretty simple, but cooking a meal for my mother. She always used to cook at home, and I never really appreciated it as much as I should have. I learned that when I got my own appartment and had to cook for myself, which didnt like at first. That was when it hit me how much effort and love she put in every day. It made me appreciate food more.

Last year I really got into cooking, with fresh ingredients and passion. I invited her over half a year ago and cooked her a recipe I made up myself. It really touched her, and I told her how much I appreciated what she had done for me all those years. She loved the food and since then she has been asking me for new recipes instead of the other way around, lately I have been cooking with her a lot and it is the most fun I ever had with her.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love languages, I know a few words in a lot of languages and Im always open to learn some new stuff. Ofcourse I can always teach people some Dutch and or German (which I am decent at, not great) I have also been learning russian for a few years (I'd say about A2/B1 level)

I also love drawing and painting, can't really say that I can learn people a lot about it, but I could definitely try and or show them how I do it!

I can cook! Im not a 4 star gourmet chef, but I defintely know my way around the kitchen. I can teach you some of my recipes and If you want you can teach me some of yours. Love to learn to cook new things.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'd love to paint or draw you something, get to know you and make you something you would want to put up on your wall. See it as a token of my appreciation.

Real interactions and conversations. I would love to cook, even every day If you dont like cooking!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands