Time to dedicate a blogpost to my series ''Perfectly Imperfect MisFits'', which I started early 2011. At this moment, the whole series consists of out 30 drawings, some of which sold, others still waiting for a brandnew home. All of them simple black and white drawings, using pencil and ink on paper.
''Perfectly Imperfect MisFits'' actually is one of my best-loved and best-selling series to this date. It seems people kinda fall in love with the rather ill-fated yet happily optimistic creatures who play the main lead in this series of drawings.
As you can see, it's a series about little creatures, caught up by the bigger events of their time. Some of them try to resist, in vain, others just go with the flow and see where the currents take them. Will they wash up on the shore of a deserted island or will the ocean stream take them to their next safe haven, perhaps a place where they can rebuild their lifes? But how do you try and rebuild your life, when you can't take control of it, when other powers are pulling the strings?
Big questions, to which these little creatures have no real answers. They just get by. And perhaps that is why people are taken in by them so much. Yes, they might be MisFits, yes, they might be far-from-perfect and celebrate their failures rather than their successes, but boy, are they good at it. Almost perfect, I'd say.
Oh, by the way .. : at some computer screens, the images might appear to be a bit ''over-pixeled'' (not sure what the right phrase is, sorry folks). This is certainly on the case with the original images before uploading them. So no idea what happened there. This ''distortion'' only appears the case in Blogger, it doesn't occur when uploading the same low res pics on, for instance, my Facebook page. Weird!
Will try and figure that out a.s.a.p. In the meantime, if any of my followers have a suggestion, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
Time for another update on one of the series most dear to me: ''The Silenced Minority''. In two earlier posts, I already told a bit about my inspiration for this particular series. You can read them here (in English) and here (in Dutch).
Basically, the series is about the oppression of outcasts in a repressive society. A society, where minorities are slowly but surely, determinedly, being forced into the margins of society, stripped from their rights and robbed of their voices. A grim vision, perhaps? Well, unfortunately, even in today's world it's still reality for a whole lot of people worldwide.
And perhaps I am not the one to climb on barricades, or the most politically active or outspoken, I do believe we, who happen to live in freedom, all have a choice, and a voice to go along with it. My voice happens to be my art. I hope, one way or the other, it will not go lost and unheard but it will touch some of people's minds out there. And, even more importantly, your hearts.
When the Majority remains Silent, the minority's voice goes unheard or is put quiet: The Silenced Minority.
You can find the whole series, consisting of #1 - 10 (so far) on the Series Page here. As I said, this is a series I hold very dear, so I will be certainly working on this one during the year.
Now, I am quite proud to have been selected as one of the first of a group of three artists to be showcased on Telly Tadka's brandnew Art Factory. Telly Tadka originally is an online based Indian Television News Channel, happily describing itelf to be 'Your Camera to the TV World!'.
Recently, Telly Tadka has started branching out beyond the world of television and film, and into the world of the arts, by setting up ''THE ART FACTORY''. Their goal is to provide a platform
for (young) budding artists out there, or, as they put it themselves:
''For those who wants to figure out one’s passion and find one’s purpose
in life.''
Curious on which Witty Art work was selected for this showcase? Well, I can reveal this is one of them: ''Just Another Untried River''', from The Singles.
As for the rest, you have to find out yourself by clicking here.
So, could this be the start of Witty Art conquering the (international art) world? Well, that would be a nice thought, now wouldn't it?
If you feel your work deserves a spot in the Telly Tadka spotlight, they are currently actively looking for artists and are in no way limited by the visual arts only:
''Are you a writer? Perhaps a closeted jibber-jabberer, with a mind full of ideas? Are you a photographer? A film-maker? An actor? A host? A singer? A dancer? A musician? An artist? Anything artistry, to whom, the world wouldn’t give you an opportunity to brandish the wonderful talents you have to offer? We at Telly Tadka are at your service and would love to introduce the world to the wonderful you.So why not take that step towards that new venture and let Telly Tadka guide you to our destination.''
So, if you are interested, just email them or leave a message on the official Telly Tadka Facebook page.
Here's a series I worked on last summer, small-sized drawings about a not-so-happy lil' fella and his ever-present (scape)goatshaped shadow, of which I myself am not entirely sure whether he (or she, for that matter) brings good or evil to PinBear's life. All that there is to say for now: poor little PinBear often seems to be in a lot of pain but whether that's pain being inflicted upon him by others or by himself .. that, remains the question.
At this point, I haven't got a clue in which direction this series, and thus PinBear's future and that of his shadow, will head. As usually is the case with all my art work made in series, 'their story' will unfold (or perhaps not at all) as the pencil finds its way on an empty piece of paper.
In this blogpost, you can see a selection of four of the current series, now comprising 11 drawings, all of which I will put online on the Witty Art Originals - Series page.
Another nice thing to share with you all, is that there actually exists footage of ''the making of' PinBear'', as illustrated by the picture below.
This picture and many more were taken by photographer Tienke Huisman/Beeldvlinder for her photoseries called ''Making Art'' about artists at work. You can see more pictures of PinBear being ''born'' here.
* disclaimer * ;-)
And oh, one more thing though .. for those of you who may not understand: I am in NO way a promotor of inflicting any form of physical pain upon any other living being in real life, and that does include soft toys as well (okay, with the exception of Barbies, as I hate them with a vengeance). Guess what I tried to depict is an already scarred creature's neverending inner pain.
Again, feel free to leave your feedback, either below or via email.
Today, I'd like to share with you this preview of a series I've been working on for a while. By ''working on'', I mean: working on-it-on-and-off. It's called a ''A Great Human'' and as you can see, it features this very lively female character, declaring ''she was born a great human and she's ready to ... '' well, she's more than ready and up for a lot of stuff, as this series will show you.
'A Great Human', as she's simply called, is a creature born free. Free from bagage such as expectations from others, or worse, limitations set by others. Free from pressure put on her by society. Free from labels, free to chose from life whatever it brings to her or whatever she sets out to explore and discover. Free and not being forced to proof yourself to anyone else but yourself.
It started off with me drawing and adding a few lines of what ''A Great Human'' was born to do:
I was born a Great Human and I'm here to..
... Rock Your World
... Make You Dance!
... Kick Your Ass!
(yes, I was in a pretty fiesty but cheerful mood at the time)
But, to give it that extra ''human touch'', I decided to go interactive with this one. So, I asked input from other people, both men and women, initially in my private and professional network, but soon afterwards actively asking for input from strangers. What would your Great Human say by way of ''Declaration of A Great Humankind?'' Their input, their ''human statement'' as it were, would provide the inspiration for what each individual ''Great Human'' would look like in each and every individual drawing.
I simply asked people to finish of the line I had used for my first drawings:
I Was Born A Great Human .. and I'm here to
.. to which they could submit, well, anything they felt like. The next step was me visualising their statement, using the '''Great Human'' character I'd come up with.This way, all the input provided by others would help contribute towards or even determine the content of each image I'd draw.
So, when asked, the
first people to submit their ''Great Human Statement'':
I Was Born A Great Human .. and I'm here to
... Convince You
... Show I Care
... Control
... Stay
... Inspire
... Love
... Conquer The World
... Share
... Bring You Some Joy
And then people really got creative:
I Am A Great Human .. and I'm here to
... Breed Some More
... Be The Best And Ignore All The Rest
... Move People
... Be Your Shadow
... Hold My Ground
... Flirt & Roll
... Spread Kindness
... See, The Great And The Small
... Benefit Other Beings
... Confuse And Innovate!
... Figure Out What I Want
... Just Me
... Be A Mother
... Deviate
... Make A Difference
... Make A Mess
... Wonder ..
... Live AND Die In a Great Way Too
Well, the list goes on, but so far, all this I have turned into ''Great Human Drawings'', of which I now have posted a couple of previews online. As I have a bit more time, I will dedicate a special page on this blog to the whole series, which has become a bit of a project in itself, as I have plans to showcase the whole series both on- and offline. And to organise a bit of stuff around it, keeping people involved. Perhaps organise an (online) election of the best or the most original or most inspiring ''Great Humans''. Or the most hilarious, for that matter. Will keep you all posted on the what, when, where and how.
But, ofcourse, now I am curious. What would YOUR Great Human say to the world? Let me know and share your ''Great Human Statement'' with me and the world and let me turn your statement into a part of Witty Art!
It's simple, as you should know by now. Just finish this one sentence. With whatever you feel like and come up with. However funny, witty, inspiring, beautiful, sad, provocative, well whatever. I will use almost all of your input, well, with one exception: no HATERS and HATRED allowed, so any racist/homophobic/xenophobic/etc. content will to exactly there where it should go, there where the sun doesn't dare to shine (e.g. up the hater's a***, if you know what I mean).
I WAS BORN A GREAT HUMAN .. and I'm here to:
You submit your ''Great Human Statement'' underneath this blogpost or send it to me via email or Facebook.
I am looking forward to all your comments, remarks, additions or even questions!
