[1] At first he was destined for the profession of his patron, but owing to his great aptitude for painting he was placed under a local artist named Hendrick Coster, and through the acquaintance of Wynant Everwyn in 1654, who had family connections to Tullekens, he became a student of Ter Borch in Deventer.

[citation needed] When he came of age, he first worked for the Dutch "keelbeulen" (Houbraken called art dealers "cutthroats") until he had enough money to make a grand tour.

[1] In 1658 he set out for Italy to complete his education, booking passage on a ship to Bordeaux with letters of introduction from Tullekens for his cousin Neny there.

[1] In Bordeaux he toiled hard to earn a livelihood by painting small cabinet pictures which are now highly valued on account of their exquisite finish.

The choice of these subjects, and the habit of introducing female figures, dressed in glossy satins, were imitated from Ter Borch; they possess easy yet delicate pencilling, brilliant and correct colouring, and pleasing light and shade; but frequently their refinement passes into weakness.

The painter was gaining both fame and wealth when he began to suffer from gout and took to his bed, where he continued to paint lying down and died prematurely in 1684, in The Hague.