VLAARDINGEN: Two paintbrushes between the toes, two in her hands, and fierce concentration etched on her face, Dutch artist Rajacenna van Dam is crafting 10 paintings at the same time.

An astronaut, a self-portrait, a bespectacled panda and seven other pictures burst into life from her brush, painted on 10 canvasses laid out on a table, upside-down on the floor, and two easels.

It started as a party trick for the curly-haired Rajacenna — her artist name — who wanted a challenge to relieve her boredom. But it has since become a profession that has shot her to viral fame, with every paint stroke worked out in advance in her head before setting to work with hands — and feet.

“I work a bit on one canvas, then move to another one, so I’m always dividing my attention between them,” said Rajacenna, who is technically left-handed. “Five years ago, I started painting with both hands, as a bit of a challenge and to go quicker. I discovered I was ambidextrous,” the 31-year-old artist said.

Starting out “for fun” and after a few mishaps with sticky tape between her toes, she tried using plasticine to keep the brush between her toes. It was a success and she posted a video of her exploits online, quickly becoming a viral hit. Orders flooded in. She is so skilled that only she can tell the difference between paintings crafted with her hands and those with her feet.

“I can really see a big difference. It’s a bit less precise,” she said, performing her skills at a museum in Vlaardingen, her home town in the south of the Netherlands.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024