| Heyboer, an autodidact (shut your eyes and draw – the subconscious will do the rest), was exclusively a graphic artist. The whole process from buying and preparing the basic materials to the actual printing was done by him. He bought the zinc sheets he used, by the meter, “just like any roofer.” These were cut up into smaller pieces, into which he drew his lines with a needle, using all the force he could muster. He mixed his own paints, using few colors, mostly red, ochre, blue or black.
In his own words Heyboer’s art is meant to represent and create the relationships between the individual and society. His art is meant to improve human relationships; it should make one happy. His attitude is one of romance.
In 1951 Heyboer spent a year in a psychiatric institution in Santpoort. During his stay there he experienced that in his schizophrenia, one half of his personality adopted the form of Christ. Although he was noted to have said that his emotional life stopped before the age of three, he seemed to live in an emotional world of which his homosexuality and a religious mysticism are the main components.
Anton Heyboer died on April 9, 2005 in Den Ils, Netherlands.
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