Who am I?

My name is Willem (Wim) van Osnabrugge. I was born and raised 25 miles south of Amsterdam, Holland.


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  At the age of 23 I got married to Jantiena and started to work for Unilever, in Holland, as a chemical analyst. Over the years I gradually moved up the ladder to Divisional Vice President in the USA. During my 32 years with Unilever, we moved house 9 times, living in different countries in Europe before moving to the USA in 1986. In England we lived near Chester and later in Ashford, Kent. In the U.S. we lived near New York, Baltimore and Chicago.

I always loved my job. It was very creative i.e. the creation and application of flavorings to food. This took me to virtually every country in Europe, Far East, Indonesia, Australia, North and South America, where I interacted with the local people and learned about their cultures and odor & taste preferences. I was able to retire at 55, and we choose Sarasota, Florida, as our new domicile.

After my retirement I became very involved in the arts. First as the President of the Sarasota Art Center and later as a docent at the Ringling Museum of Art. Both functions part-time and as a volunteer.

Since 2005 I have concentrated painting in pastels and since 2015 in oils.

I have various websites, showcasing my interests:

heavensart.com

ringlingdocents.org

engelberta.com


vanosnabrugge.org
 
My art. I have been drawing, photographing and painting all my life.

My research for the Ringling Museum, where I was a docent for 14 years.

Reasearch on a 17th century painting and her hundreds of descendants, of which Audrey Hepburn is one.

My son Mark and my research in our genealogy, going back to 1200 via the paternal side and to Charlemagne via the maternal side.
 

If you want to contact me, write to or leave comments in the guestbook.