happiness for a day or two

We have this tradition in my family that every year we spend a weekend together. We rent a large house (I have a big family) somewere in The Neherlands and spend two days together. We started this as my grandparents died and we didn't see much of eachother. My grandparents were the ones who kept us all together. I'm a real family girl so I love it and in two hours this year's weekend starts. I have to go and pack my bags. I wish you all I nice weekend!

What do you think? and more...

As you can see I made a second t-shirt with a drawing on it. In this post I showed you my first steps into the world of t-shirts, fibre-tip pens and fabric. I told you of my concern that the drawing would fade or even be totally gone if I washed it. Well.... It's not gone, but the drawing is fading away. I did some research and the first shirt I used was not 100% cotton. Even if it's only 95% cotton, this could be the reason. So I made this yellow version on a 100% cotton shirt (it's not easy to find a nice cotton shirt for a woman...) and I washed it twice and it's looking good! I'm going to wash it a bit more, because I want to sure. And by the way: I'm standing in front of a new finished drawing.

rules of the queen

Every year on the last day of April, the Netherlands celebrates the birthday of the Queen’s mother. On this day, all Dutch cities, small or big, are bustling with street parties and other festive events.  There are also parades, craft shows, flea markets, freemarkets, children’s parties, free music performances, street theatres and fireworks.
We dress up in orange-themed outfits, locals and tourists gather in the streets for this internationally renowned celebration, which goes on until the evening or even until the next day. We start celebrating Queen's Day from the evening before the Queen's Day itself. Usually, the parties start from 7pm and go on until the early hours of Queen's Day. So It's going to be a busy weekend and monday: we don't have to work on Queen's Day! Wish you also a nice weekend, whatever your plans are.

eyes blink bright lights

At the same time that I'm trying to put my drawings on a t-shirt, I'm also working on a new drawing on paper. I wish you all a good start in this new week!

What do you think?

As you can see I'm going into fashion-design, haha! No, I just have this new idea for my drawings to put them on t-shirts. This is the first shirt and it's just a try out to see how the fibre-tip pen works on fabric and if the drawing has a nice effect on a shirt. Now I have to wash it and find out if the drawing is gone or still on the shirt.... I like to draw it on the shirt myself and not have it printed. This way it has almost the same effect as in my drawings with  pencil.
So, how do you like this new idea?

to fall, to fall at your feet

Thank you all for your nice comments on my last post. I do feel a little bit better and I managed to finish a drawing and start a new one. Now I'm tired and going to take a break. I don't want this cold to last any longer then necessary. I wish you all a nice week!

aaaahhhrrrgggg...

I'm sick, I have a cold, I hate that!

take a moment

Easter monday is almost over so back to my studio, back to a new drawing! I just have to finish a couple of small things and then this one is also done.

the grassy bits between

My rabbit Pollock insisted to play the Easter Hare this year!
I wish you all a nice, sunny Easter weekend!

only in my head

These are two of my new drawings. As I started them I was absolutely convinced by the new directions the drawings were going. As I finished this one, I already wasn't so sure about my new idea, but I told myself that at least I have to finish the second one. So I did and there should be a number 3, but I don't know if I will ever draw that one. I'm already started a new drawing in another direction. This is not what I imagined them to be. Maybe the drawings will work if you see them all 3 hanging next to each other, like a triptych. Sometimes the images in my head turn out to be a bit different in reality...

like a sweet memory

This is a drawing of me as a little kid and my mum. We were on a holiday in our own country, The Netherlands. The weather was beautiful, very warm and my mum is laying in the sand at the dunes, enjoying the sun and I'm crawling all over her, playing. This weekend should have been her birthday. I miss her very much but I'll have a drink to celebrate her birthday!

let's take life nice and easy

The weather is so wonderful for the last two weeks, that today I try to enjoy it and not let anything upset me, even if I had a bad day at my job.

a touchy situation

Every time I finish a drawing there's the challenge of taking a picture of it. It's quite difficult because they are so big, I have to be careful with the paper (you  can't see it on this picture but I have to stand on  a chair or ladder). And I have to wait for the correct light, because you see every shadow on the white paper. After that I still have to clean them up in photoshop...most of the time it takes an hour to make them look okay. You can see a glimpse of a new drawing by the way, wish you all a nice weekend!

sweeties and cuties

Today is the official start of springtime! And we have such beautiful, sunny weather that this start couln't be better. I wish you all a nice day, hopefully also with some sun and some first flowers that start to show up as well.

welcome in 2012

Yesterday I bought a new mobile phone. "So what", you might think, but for me it was a big deal. I never in my live bought a phone. In 2003 I moved to Switzerland for 3 years and my mother didn't like the idea that she couldn't reach me in the train during travelling. So she bought me a phone. I used that old phone until yesterday. People would start to laugh if they saw it, but I call it vintage, haha! And as I told you before, my mother passed away, so this phone became important for me, because it was a thing that showed that my mother cared about me (off course she did!). But now it started to fall apart, I didn't get phonecalls or messages so it became annoying. Well....I had to get a new one. And if I had to, I thought by myself, I might go from vintage to smartphone. So now I'm sitting here trying to figure it out and my Teddy is taking care of my old phone.  Good I still have my Teddy.... I might as well keep the old phone;-)

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...

it has to give in

I finished a new drawing. This one is a bit different then the rest of the drawings, maybe this is the first one where the girl is giving in and is not so strong anymore. Has she enough of it?

At the moment I'm struggling a bit with my drawings. I don't really know where to go with them. I'm working at two drawings now which belong together and after these two I have to see where to go next.... My head is faster then my hand can draw, I made so many new sketches but the next day I doubt them already.

girl power

8 March: International Women's Day.
Make sure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding!

or rainy days

Despite my last post, we didn't get much sun this weekend. Only saturday we saw a little bit of what spring can bring us and that was it. We made the best of it and on sunday we put the plants outside so the rain could wash of the dust of winter.

the way to the sun

March arrived and the news promised us some more sun. I like winter time: dark evenings, snow, candles and all that, but not the time between two seasons.  The last two weeks it has been very gray and rainy, but not cold anymore. Just so-so-and no more... I'm ready for some more colours, flowers, spring and the sun! And I hope we will get some of it this weekend so we can spend some time outside, enjoying the warmth on our faces.