In his early work, Verster was captivated by the Hague School, which was then at the height of its fame. He often painted atmospheric landscapes around his hometown of Leiden. He also went to Bergen and Noorden to paint. Around 1885 he switched to painting still lifes of flowers and simple objects, contemplative in nature and with a strong symbolic charge. In this, Verster joined the painters who were no longer concerned with the outward forms of nature, but depicted these as animated by an inner force.