drawing challenge

This weeks host for the drawing challenge is Renilde and her theme is "key/hole". I don't know why, but I thought about a lot of rooms together, with a lot of keys, like hotels. Maybe because I need a break, haha!  So I made a key that should keep people out of your room. Now I think about it, I made the opposite of a key. And I'm still a bit inspired by the last challenge about words. Well, I hope I could at least make you smile...

For more keys, go to the beautiful blog of Renilde!

they seem so very tough

I'm still a bit in the vibe of the last drawing challenge and playing with drawing and words. This one can be read in many ways I think. Maybe a bit to serious for post number 301! Juhuuuu!

drawing challenge

These weeks host of the drawing challenge is Patrice and her theme is Proverb or Saying. Or any other text or sentence that means something to you or in your work. Well.... I don't have a favourite sentence: I have a whole booklet! I already told you once that I collect sentences or text pieces that inspire me. I'm very bad with words, so I collect them and then make something new out of them. I always have been fascinated by drawings or paintings with text pieces in them. I also made a lot of these drawings. Especially the ones I make on the computer. I like to play with it and see where the text can fit into the drawing and become a part of it. Some of them become very personal and others have my theme: woman in art and how they are threated and judged and so on. My favourite line is "Whatever kind of art I'll make, it will be labeled feminine". Just to bad that that is my favourite one, but as long as I meet people who think that's important to tell me so, I feel the feminist inside me, haha! Also important: humor, as in the drawing on top. And a little bit in the second one, humor and a little bit true. And last but not least: a picture of one of the cabinets I made a few years ago, some of them I already posted. A combination of drawing and a small object. The text is "fuck geluk" in reversed writing which means fuck happiness in dutch, but in dutch it rhymes and sounds funny. I like it especially when I'm angry and those "happy people" irritate me, sorry...

I just noticed I wrote a lot here...mmmm, Patrice I think your theme made me think again about some things! Please check out her blog for all the players in this challenge!

Before the real challenge

The next drawing challenge is hosted by Stefanie and she has a theme that can be interpreted in many, many ways: Philipp, a fillip. I thought, Philipp means the friend of horses. So you might let yourself be inspired by...? The music and the lyrics by muse, the name, your brother, a horse, a fingerplay, isn´t that fillip enough?

So I just finished this drawing for my society6 shop and I thought that it just fitted perfectly in a weird way to post it as a early input, haha! If you like this one, you can order it at my shop as a t-shirt, bag, pillow or print.

drawing challenge

This weeks host for the drawing challenge is Patrice and her fantastic theme is "Dance". I can not tell you how much I love to dance...oh yes I can tell you and I already did at this post, so if you want to read about my love for dancing give it a go! So I don't have to tell you how happy I am with this theme and I just had to post my "little tango bunny". Some of you know her already, but she's perfect for this challenge. She also has a sexy big sister:

If you want to see the versions of these computer-drawings made with watercolour, acrylic and airbrush click here.

For more "dance" go to Patrice's blog and let's dance!

waiting room...

...for my "Atelier Spunk" sign. This is actually a part of our garage. If I have to airbrush something bigger, I'll do that in the garage. My computer is also in my studio and it's not very healthy fot it to airbrush in front of it. Behind the bike you can see that I used this wall more then once... I just liked this picture: paint and work just where ever you can!

March 8: International Women's Day

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights" Gloria Steinem

Pin it!

I decided to put some of my things on Pinterest. It feels a bit like cleaning up and ordening my stuff, haha. So now you can find all the different things I make also over here. It's still a small selection but it will grow as well. You can also already find some of my older paintings I told you about in my last post. If anyone of you is also on Pinterest I would be happy to see you there too and exchange inspiration and stuff;-)
Wish you all a good start in the new week!

fiction is my addiction...

...perhaps I need a prescription.
                                         (Dr. Seuss)

some tears, trials, tribulations for new stuff!

I don't know were to start, so much has happened, mostly in my head... and all of it about my art, and what art is and why some of it is so caled "high" or "important" art and some of it isn't and blablabla. Anyway: it all started with another cancellation for my drawings. I became kind of depressed, very sad and angry! Other people deside if my drawings are oke and if they are good enough or if they fir into their concept. So I decided to put some more energy in the other stuff I make: the things just for fun or just for friends.  The things that do not count in the art-world: the so-called hobby things... I was so tired of this discussion about art and the feeling about my other stuff, that they are not good enough or at least not in the world I want to fit in. So I decided all the stuff I make mathers and I just start something new, more "commercial". And I have fun doing it! So: I started a new label that goes by the name "Atelier Spunk" (atelier means as much as studio) and here you can find the jewelery I make. The shop isn't online yet, I hope it will be next week. I even updated my facebook-account which I ignored all these years... maybe some of you are out there as well, you'll find me here. And if you think it is a bit okay what I'm doing you can like the page of Spunk: www.facebook.com/atelierspunk.
Enough for now, more later on, I wish you all a nice weekend!

shoplift a thought or two

Thank you for the nice comments on my birthday-post! I had a really nice weekend with family and friends, food and beautiful and sweet presents. So I welcome the new year!

And because of this I didn't had much time to draw, so today I show you a page of my "collecting-words-and-sentences-sketchbook". I collect sentences I read from newpapers, magazines, books and songtext. I love words, I'm just really bad in using them myself (that's why I draw;-), so I collect them and shuffle them an create new ones I use for the titles of my works. On the right page you can see my interest for woman's right or problem's...

something different and new!

I'm quite exited because I started another blog! It's not that different because I still post drawings but it's all about food. On this blog you can find recipes and quotes about food. Maybe you'll ask yourself "why?". To answer this I'll have to tell you something about myself: I have some really bad food allergies. When I eat peanuts or nuts you'll have to bring me to the hospital because I can't breathe. When I eat yeast, sugar or milkproducts it will make me sick after a few months: daily stomach ache, headache and very tired. If I tell people this the maint point is often that they focus on the allergies and not what I can eat and that they feel sorry for me. Even if I tell them that they don't have to be because I feel better this way because I'm not sick. Even on the internet the focus is often so negative that I wanted a change for me and maybe even for other people who can't eat this stuff. So I started this blog with a lot of positive energie and my way to share recipes: by drawings! Maybe you want to have a look, leave a comment, or even follow it... Maybe you even have a tip-off! I just started so there're only 4 post yet. The drawings are in dutch, but you can find the english version on the bottom of every post.
The name of the blog is "plant-aardig", which means in dutch as much as "vegetable" but in dutch it has the word "nice" in it.

Maybe I'll see you there ( if you want te know the whole recipe of the drawing above you'l have to take a look ;-)) and otherwise I wish you a nice weekend!

draw a moment

These are some pages of my sketchbook that I took with me on my trip to Norway. Every night I wrote down what we did and what we saw. I don't take it with we during the day, because I find it very hard to draw or write in public or at the moment that I'm walking in such wonderful landscape. And actually I write more then that I draw, so it's more "write a moment".... I found out that it brings back memories sometimes even more then looking at photo's. I try to do the same thing at home but at the end I don't do it, probably because every day is a bit the same.

one word or idea

As a comment to my last post, Mano wrote that she would love to see some of my sketches... I work in phases and these sketches are the last step before I start the actual drawing. I also write all kind of possible titles or words on them that I associate with the drawing. I keep a book where I collect sentences, maybe I show you some pages of that too someday. These drawings are made on the computer ( with red colour pencil try-outs on them) and not very spectacular...

every then and now part 2

I finished the other two matresses I told you about in this post. I'm happy with the result and I'll show them in Maastricht during the KunstTour. Tonight is the opening and I'm a little bit nervous!

every then and now

Sometimes new ideas can be so easy. You don't have to search for them or stay up all night, trying to come up with something great. It doesn't happen very often that an idea is just there, in your head, and you don't have to think it over, everything is just right about it. I'm working for the exhibition that is coming up and I thought about the mattress of an old bed that is still lying in the attic. And I realized that it has the same pattern that I create in the background for my paintings. The fabric of the mattress is almost the same! It's a great feeling when somthing like this happens, it creates so much new energy. Besides this mattress I have another two, they are all 100 x 65 x 20 cm, so small ones and now I'm making painted objects out of them.
And the funny thing is: last year I wanted to clean the attic and throw stuff away and I'm so glad I was to lazy!

"deliverance at last"

"deliverance at last" are the words on the cover of the magazine which Schunck* published on the occasion of the exhibition "Niki de Saint Phalle: Outside-In". I told you all about the exhibion in this post and that they're working on a "Niki zine" (from magazine...), and looking for pictures of  people who are inspired by her work in this one. And now the Nikizine is ready and they published my tattoo! I'm very happy with it, to be connected to her work and on a project like this. I want to share a part of the text about art, which I found very powerful:

"What makes the work of the artists who have been sidelined as "outsiders" so interesting and topical is that it indirectly reflects the way we deal with critical, nonconformist voices. As self-affirmed "insiders", we are all too happy to label those who think differently as "outsiders" in order to prevent our own convictions being placed in perspective, our fixed view of the world becoming unsettled and our carefully-constructed identity being placed in doubt."

words so sweet

I have a seperate sketchbook where I collect sentences. Things I read in magazines, books or parts of a songtext. I play with the text and combine them and so I find my titels for works.