Thursday, February 11, 2010

Life drawing session February 10th

I recently set up a life drawing group. These are some results of the first drawing session.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Concept sketches


I was invited to participate in this project.
These are two concept sketches of which I have to choose one that will be published in the book. The first sketch belongs to the song: "Home" by Michel Petrucciani
The second one is an illustration for "I wish" by Stevie Wonder

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Sketching...


For the ink sketches I used the pentel brush. It has a nice tip, and good quality ink.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Portrait sketch

Portrait study of Dutch writer Gerrit Komrij. Oils on paper.

Richard Schmid states in his book 'Alla Prima" (which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more on painting alla prima) that you should never leave anything in your painting that you are not satisfied with. I totally agree. If you compare painting to speaking, leaving such a thing on the canvas is like mumbling, instead of spealking clearly.
Still I limited myself to one session for this sketch, especially to see which elements I overlook, when I am not revising every 'mistake'.
Most apparent are two things to me.
1. Colors. The tonality of the portrait is quite okay, yet the portrait lacks interesting play of warm and cool accents. The light areas are way too cool.
2. Point of interest. The sharp edges in his hair and his coat, take the focus away from his face. Because of this, the painting does not state clearly where the point of interest lies. This sharpness had better be placed in the glasses and his eyes instead.
I learn from this sketch that it is very important to take the time and to think about concepts like these (point of interest, composition, color, tonalities) even more, before putting the paint on the canvas. Painting happens in the mind first.


Detail for those who want to have a closer look at the brushstrokes:

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Outdoor sketching


I wanted to do a sketch outside inspite of the freezing cold. Not equipped with the right protection (like gloves...) nature forced me to stop at the moment I could no longer move my fingers.
I had so much fun, though...The suffering is totally worth it...

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Friday, December 18, 2009

Vrij Nederland Christmas Cover


I illustrated the VN cover for the christmas issue. The job was strictly directed, so during the making, I created many versions, to get to the final cover.
For some reason they decided at the very last moment to cut off the left part , with the chrismas tree and Michael Jackson, and only the table with the people eating appeared on the cover.
The cover appeared troughout the coutry. Below : an advertisment in Amsterdam.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

TV Wedding


A design for a wedding invitation for two friends of mine, who are getting married on national television, december 31st.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Esquire

Illustration for Esquire about dealing with conflict situations and how to control them.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Groeneveld en Lockhorn


These illustrations are part of a series, created for a company that specialises in communication trainings. It was my job to create a set of caricatures that could be 'recycled' in different settings.
It required a new approach, starting with a finished caricature, and then adding the situation.
This is a photo of my models.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sketches

What is possible in drawing is limited only by your imagination. Drawing and observing the world often is a way to develop your imagination and skills to put it on paper.
Simply a pencil and a piece of paper are enough to endless learnig, imagination and fun!!