About me

As an artist, collector and entrepreneur I enjoy making and selling art. I work with different techniques mostly as a recycle artist. My love for the woodcut printing technique started when I saw the works of Siemen Dijkstra, through my eyes, the best Dutch artist in this field. I never mastered woodcut printing art myself, but in my father’s studio (Ronald Raaijmakers, still life painter), I found some beautiful linoprinting of his hand, and a sketch for a printed t-shirt, partly based on the great wave of Kanagawa.

I bought my first Japanese Ukiyo-e prints about 3 years ago. I was then forced to switch professions. This was the time to start a business myself! I could quickly see this as a step forward, a step towards art, where my real passion lies. This gave me space for my own work, but also for the sale of Japanese woodcut prints.

I came across Japanese woodcuts through love. I saw the beautiful print by Shiro Kasamatsu; Rising moon at Katase river. This was exactly the right gift for the lady I really love and wanted to impress. However, the prize for the work went through the roof and I had to let it go. It did not let me go. I should be able to find someone in Japan where I could buy this print, right? That search was intensive and hard, but I was fed by love, so I persevered. And I found it! It was indeed the perfect gift that she enjoys looking at every day.

In the quest for Rising Moon, the plan was born to bring more of these prints to the Netherlands for more people to enjoy. Now I deliver prints throughout Europe and other continents, where I was able to make hundreds of people happy with a beautiful and original Japanese woodblock print. Are you next? Welcome to kyotoprints.com

Thank you for taking some time here to look.

With kind regards, Floris Raaijmakers