Artwork of Dutch artist, now living in Theodosia, is on display at library


The artwork of Saskia Drok-Edgington, who moved to Ozark County from Holland in 2018, is currently on display at the Ozark County Volunteer Library in Gainesville. The exhibit features more than a dozen pieces by Saskia that range from abstract work to more realistic wildlife paintings. The paintings are mixed media with a variety of materials worked into the artwork.

This abstract work is left untitled, so the viewer can use their own imagination while viewing it.

The artwork of Theodosia resident Saskia Drok-Edgington is now displayed at the Ozark County Volunteer Library as part of the organization’s visiting artist exhibits. 

There is a variety of different pieces including several abstract works and wildlife art, most of which incorporate different types of materials onto the canvas.

Saskia said that her life path toward Ozark County began in 23 years ago in 2000 while she was living in Holland. She began playing an online game and soon hit it off with a player halfway across the globe, Kenny Edgington of Theodosia. 

Saskia and Edgington communicated for more than a year by phone and different online messaging platforms before she decided she wanted to meet him in person. 

“I took the bold move to go and visit him in May 2002. I had never flown before and had not left my kids for more than a day, but I needed to know if the guy was as good as I thought he was,” Drok told the Times. So on spring day, she boarded a plane and flew, for the first time ever, to the United States to visit Edgington. After meeting him in person, she decided he was as good as she originally thought.

“Back then, it was not an option for me to move to America with two young kids. So, in 2003, he moved to Holland,” Drok said. “While living in Holland, we spent many vacations in America, and I really started to love the Ozarks. Living in busy, organized Holland was all I knew, but in Missouri I was able to live in a beautiful, relaxed environment with awesome weather. I realized that I would be happier living in America than Holland. Fortunately, I still think that way.”

Drok and Edgington saved up enough money to purchase property in Theodosia, and in 2018 they bought a piece of land there and built a home. It’s where they reside now. 

“During my 33-year career with the Dutch police, I worked as a management assistant for the chief of police, as a consultant for the Foreign Department and, the last 10 years, as a forensic detective,” Saskia said. 

When the couple moved to Theodosia, Drok took a year off from working. Then in 2019, she was offered an opportunity to work as the receptionist at Theodosia Marina Resort, which she accepted. Her husband Kenny is also employed by TMR in maintenance work. The couple work during the summers and take the winters off. Saskia says she and Kenny are both creative.

“I paint, and he loves to carve on wood. In the winter months, we have a lot of time for our hobbies,” she said. 

Saskia said she was 40 when she began painting, and she found that she enjoyed the process and other people seemed to like her work as well. She’s had several exhibitions in Holland over the years and sold a lot of her paintings. 

“I like to paint abstracts the most. I put all kinds of materials onto a blank canvas... the netting from oranges, aluminum foil, branches, tissues, wall filler and cedar bark,” she said. “After that, I put on acrylic colors and go with the flow. I never know where I will end. Some paintings take me months, others I finish in less time.”

The paintings on display at the library include wildlife art aptly titled Baby Elephant, The Cardinal and Gorilla. Another work titled Cave Painting is reminiscent of artwork that may have been painted on cave walls by early humans, and a muted-toned Buddha painting that brings forth a sense of serenity. 

Most of the other art is abstract paintings, which Saskia leaves untitled to allow the viewer to use his or her own imagination while looking at the work. 

Saskia says the displayed paintings are for sale, and those interested can contact her for pricing by emailing saskia.drok.edgington@gmail.com or  calling her at 417-989-8901. 

To see more of Drok’s work, along with the work of her husband, visit “Arts and Crafts by Ken and Saskia” on Facebook. 

The Ozark County Volunteer Library, located at the corner of Second and Elm Streets in Gainesville, is run by volunteers and operates completely on donations. It is not tax funded in any way. The current open hours are Monday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The library is closed on Thursday and Sunday. 

For more information on the visiting artist program and how to participate, contact Lisa Atkinson at lisacatkinson@ gmail.com or call the Ozark County Volunteer Library at 417-679-4442. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423