Diederick Kraaijeveld was born in 1963 in The Hague,The Netherlands. He earned his Masters in History at Leiden University, and studied creative writing at the University of Texas.He became a professional newspaper journalist in the early nineties and he has been an award winning investigative reporter for the leading Dutch TV-Channel RTL4. Kraaijeveld received the 2005 VVOJ Award, Association for Investigative Journalism in the Netherlands and Belgium, for his groundbreaking stories on fraud in the Housing of the Board of Directors of the Dutch Social Security System. Even though he was a successful reporter he decided to pursue a career as an artist.

Becoming an artist from being a reporter may sound strange, but in his view it isn’t. As a reporter (especially when doing a complex story) one has to think visually: image is king in a televised story. He now uses his skills in visual thinking to make his artwork. As an investigative reporter he was gathering pieces of evidence to build his stories, now he is gathering old wood to build his pieces of art. The most rewarding thing for him is that while his television stories are only aired once, his art is long lasting.

Kraaijeveld is a self-taught artist and for a great part of his life he has been collecting things and making art out of it. He has collected Chinese firecrackers after new years-eve events in Holland and turned them into colorful collages, which he gave away to friends. He also took cigarette packs (especially Gauloises packs he found during his travels into France) and turned them into works of art. For the couple of years before starting his art company, Oudhout (meaning old wood in Dutch),  sculpted found wooden logs from his aunt Mizou’s chateau and gave away the pieces. His first endeavors in Oudhout were also given away: Two Citroen DS’s now hang on the wall of two of his dear friends who share a passion for that same French car. Being a fan of American muscle cars he made one of his first pieces of a 1966 Mustang, which he was also the proud owner of.

Kraaijeveld’s wood cars and other wood pieces are made of reclaimed wood he finds during his travels in Holland and abroad. No recycling bin in front of old houses is safe from him and there is no beach, whether along the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean or the Pacific, uncombed by him. He searches for painted wooden planks and flooring from old mansions in the inner cities of Holland and from century old farmhouses in the more rural areas. During a renovation the wood is thrown into recycling bins and Kraaijeveld always keeps an eye out for them: old green, yellow, and red flooring from days when Rembrandt was still alive finds its way to his warehouse in Hilversum (just outside Amsterdam). His growing popularity in Holland helps have him informed when antique planks are being removed from old buildings.

After visiting his aunt in the south of France with his family van, instead of loading up with bottles of wine, as the Dutch usually do, he loads his car up with old French doors and shutters. “They make really nice pick up trucks”, he says. Every Saturday Kraaijeveld is allowed to roam the premises of one of Holland’s leading recyclers to pick out the best pieces of old wood.

To make his art of cars, tennis shoes, coffee cups and other items he uses a variety of saws. Every piece of his assemblage is of genuine colored wood and no paint is used. It can take weeks or months to make a wood piece depending on the availability of the wood and the complexity of the piece. His artwork is judged after it is finished and not every piece finds its way out of his atelier.

Kraaijeveld’s life and work has been featured in leading Dutch magazines such as, Elsevier and Seasons among others. He has had solo exhibitions in Amsterdam. His artwork has found its way into private homes in Holland, New York, Los Angeles, London, the UK and abroad. His art is also in corporate collections such as, American Express, Biomet, Heinz, and Pacific Tank Lines to name a few.