I was born in the Dutch city of Haarlem, son to the painter Poppe Damave. I really enjoyed growing up in a large family with my father working from his home studios. Even though the easels and brushes were everywhere, I got into photography at a very early age. Digital didn’t exist yet so I built my own dark room. I also played the guitar and experimented with audio. At 18 I went to the Netherlands Film Academy.
I produced and directed children’s programs and documentaries for various Dutch TV networks. In 1992 my spiritual journey compelled me to move to the US. Shortly thereafter the world wide web started connecting the world and intrigued by its possibilities and technologies I started a career as a web developer.
In 2016 I moved to Taiwan, initially continuing in web development. I worked together with Matt Kirby, creator of the well known game Apples to Apples. Our shared passion for art and history resulted in two wonderful web sites. (See below). The recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, paradoxically inspired me to return to my roots. You can read more about that in my blog post AI Made Me Want to Paint Again.
SPARC is a database of 175 late-type galaxies and now has an intuitive front end to help find the elusive dark matter.
Browse the world's most famous art with a super fast UI. Find art by artist, city and many other criteria. Play the results as a slideshow.
Discover how historical events are interconnected. Click on a connected event to see the connections. (Not for smartphone.)
Together with my wife Lisa I produce a weekly YouTube channel for Taiwanese children to learn English. I wrote the software to turn text into animation, music and speech.