Born in the Philippines in 1978, Maria van Dijk has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts majoring in Advertising Arts from the University of the East in the Philippines. As a professional artist, she had worked experience as a Background Artist for an animation studio in the Philippines and became also a Special Effects Artist (SFX) and 2D animator for Japan’s Toei animations. Maria also became an art teacher and multimedia lecturer back in the Philippines. She now resides in Suriname with her family and currently does freelance work for graphic design and commissioned portraits and paintings. Maria enjoys working with watercolors and many of her works are rendered through that medium. She had joined the local and international watercolor exhibitions and had won awards