He later studied for a short time at the Staatliche Hochschule in Berlin, followed by the International art academy from Hans Baluschek, where he explored several types of avant garde and abstract art, and met the Berlin-based artist Herbert Behrens-Hangeler with whom he became close friends.

By 1924 he had adopted a figurative style influenced by Picasso's neoclassical paintings of the early 1920s, and especially by Léger.

Later in the decade, Willink developed a magic realist style related to the metaphysical paintings of Giorgio de Chirico.

His realistically rendered paintings frequently depict slightly disquieting scenes taking place in front of imposing buildings.

His first marriage in 1927 with Mies van der Meulen (1900–1988) dissolved after a year, but his second in 1930 with Wilma Jeuken (1905–1960) lasted until her death of a brain tumor.