Jan Kooistra was born in 1950 in the Frisian village Damwoude. He has been painting and drawing as long as he can remember. It was especially the nature around him that carelessly struck him.

In Dokkum, Kooistra has his own gallery now where he exhibits his works. His great love for nature, he translates into beautiful oil paintings. The Frisian landscape, the Wadden Sea, animals and flowers are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. He himself calls his style 'dreamed realities' or 'scenic realism'. Over the years he had several major exhibitions in, among others, Groeneveld castle in Baarn, the Singer Museum in Laren, Hotel Des Indes in The Hague, the Floriade in Zoetermeer and many others. He also appeared in several TV programs on national Dutch television. A lot of books appeared about his work.