preview

Morgen in de Morgen! (Tomorrow in The Morning, Belgian newspaper). Beware Belgians of the Dazzling-Dutch-Drawing! Love my alliterations, maybe even more than the actual drawing, but hey, it was a four-hour-chore :) 

glory to the cat

No my blog didn't die on you. I bought a house. It needed some attention.. But, I'm back in the game. And with that, I thought I'd let my new living room serve as a model. For the cover of newspaper De Volkskrant, themed peer-to-peer traveling, I wanted to show a hotel slash living room. 
This proved rather difficult with my current working method in which I'm trying to avoid all unnecessary elements. Because in this particular picture drawing the details would be essential to make the room more personal. I had to get past my 'thingies'-aversion and throw in slippers and coffee cups. That was hard, but I pulled it off because they were functional to the story. But then came the next tricky part, not to go overboard with the personal items because it should also function as a hotel room (unpersonal, tidy). You see my dilemma? I struggled a while but when I finally added the cat on the couch and the (hotel)key in the door I felt everything coming together. 

So. Enough words to illustrate my blog is still alive & kicking? The cat on the couch isn't though... Afraid the move did him in. Apparently he had a weak little heart. I'm quite sad about it, but glad he made the newspapers...

if I can make it there

Yesterday I got a call from New York - which I didn't know at that point but it sure didn't look Dutch to me - but surrounded by a bunch of freshly released toddlers I thought it wise to let my voicemail do its job. So straight after escaping the schoolyard I played the message of a very friendly and enthusiastic lady congratulating me with being admitted to this year's Annual Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators in New York (there you have it, indeed). I'm thrilled!! And if I can make it there..
This is the piece that was selected, Megaliths, it belongs to a series of drawings I made for newspaper de Volkskrant about Dutch attractions.

bank slash bunker

Some might say I'm overdoing it with the houses, but I can't help myself. And technically, this isn't a house, it's a bunker. Made it for a financial magazine, in which there is an article about how banks are more like impregnable fortresses nowadays.

leolino

My first linocut since a decade (true story) and they turned out quite nice if I say so myself. Not finished yet, but soon. And when I re-open my shop and you're in need for some Lazy Dutch Women; that's where you'll find them.

tribute

Just finished my latest work for newspaper de Volkskrant, which I cannot show yet because it is yet to be printed. However, I do want to give you a sneak preview and in particular the clouds-section. Because here I paid a little tribute to the best painting I've seen (and proud to say: have in my possession). It's called Secretariat by Monique Wijbrands, painted after an almost fatal trip to India, showing the Chandigarh Secretariat by Le Corbusier against a beautiful blue and salmon colored sunset. Long before I actually became aware of my passion for all kind of buildings in art I fell in love with this painting. It also was the first of my architectural-inspired works decorating my home. When moving into my new apartment end of this year, all cabinets, doors and windows will have to make way for this painting.

(am I dismissed of being accused of ordinary theft now?..)

power to the pencil

Took the ferry to Amsterdam Drawing yesterday, an art fair for Amsterdam galleries showing off their artists, young and/or established. Here are a few of my favorites. Marijn van Kreij, Erik Mattijssen and Nanda Runge. Left with my little stack of business cards untouched in my pocket, because even though I don't miss the highbrow art scene at all, I felt a little humble surrounded by all that diligent manual labor..