Hammer and sickle is a work referring to the sixties. When the workers on the land in the northeast of the Netherlands (then also known as "The Grain Republic") formed a strong communist party. This party still exists but is not so big as in the sixties.

Marten paints acrylic on canvas, mixing the colours. He will never use a colour straight from the jar.

The artist found his inspiration in the enormous dimensions of the landscape in the north and the “Waddenzee”, the sea in the north of The Netherlands. His work is an expression of the silence you can experience standing in the middle of nowhere. An overwhelming feeling, which sometimes can be too impressive.
"When you are standing or sailing in the 'nothing', with the horizon 360 degrees around you, then you are connected with nature, the place you are. Then the silence is not in your ears only.”