Machteld Faas Xander is almost at 200 Twitter followers. We would love to thank all of you for following our tweets and other social media accounts.

We love that social media, and the Internet in general, are able to connect people. Especially close to our hearts is how social media gives people a better chance to share their stories and what matters to them with a larger audience than they otherwise would be able to.

Here is a story:

I love painting. I believe that art gives us a channel in which we can express ideas, feelings and concepts that we may not yet be able to communicate with words.

A few years ago, I created a painting series that was composed of two parts. I was moving to live in Europe and was struggling with the thoughts of leaving behind friends, home and what was familiar to me. I thought a lot about the concepts of connectivity, distance and the bonds that can bring people together.

The paintings each focused on a journey: where we came from and where we are going. Each painting seems complete on its own. But with the use of colour, the paintings are brought together to show a deeper connection.

In line with these ideas and what I wanted to accomplish, I gave one of these paintings, entitled Distance There, to a gentlemen that owned a chain of banks in Europe. He hung the painting in the main branch so that all of the employees and customers can see the image when they enter the building.

I brought the other painting, entitled Connect Here, back to Canada. I have been keeping it, waiting for the perfect opportunity to finish the initial concept that I originally created three years ago.

I have finally found the connection that I have been looking for. To celebrate connectivity and bringing people together, Machteld Faas Xander will be giving away the second painting, Connect Here, to one of our first 200 followers.

We will put the twitter handles of our first 200 followers into a draw and choose one of you to receive the painting. I really want the painting to go to a someone who will appreciate it, so if you would like the painting, send us a tweet @MachFaasXan expressing your desire for the painting and your handle will be entered an extra 20 times into the draw. You have until the 200th follower to tweet us. The winner will be contacted through twitter and will have 48 hours to reply once their name is announced.

When the community in Europe sees the painting and looks at the abstracted background, they will be staring into your painting. Although an ocean separates us, we are closely tied together.