'My Life In LImbo': how a little book helps me understand my own artwork a bit better

As painfully confronting as it may be, I am getting quite addicted of working on my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo'. Filling each blank page with thoughts and visions, words and images, has become an absolute must for me. Which is good, because that means my creative energy is flowing freely again, without any restrictions or inhibitions. And that means I feel stronger to take on the battle of getting my life back on track again. Or at least strong enough to start venturing out again, making new plans for projects, for a new workspace, and a new place to live as well.

Working on this little book of dreams and nightmares alike also helps me to gain new insights of my own work. It helps me understand a bit better where certain themes and figurines come from, what role they play in my work and where they more or less stand for - or not. Just a bit, mind you, as some characters are just as elusive as they have always been and even for me are just too hard to grasp.

 

Let's just say that I rediscovered how long some of these characters have been around, ever since I was a child. A curious, but shy, withdrawn child who'd rather spend time drawing and writing then going outside to play. Other kids might have liked to venture out, go out on adventures and discovering stuff. I prefered to wander in my own mind and drift of there. So, I might have become a bit more outgoing as an adult, but not that much has changed. 

So, I can safely say that the contours of the World of Witty Art were shaped in those early years of childish wondering and wandering. And it has been my biggest loss, my biggest regret that I have allowed myself to lose that feeling of wondering and wandering during such a huge part of my adult life. 

Having been able to find that back, to find I did not lose it after all, to discover it was still there, has been a bittersweet experience. I lost a lot during that process, too. A process that more or less ended with losing my house. But I gained something so much more important, so vital, so crucial for me to be who I really am: my ability to create this thing I call Witty Art, the world it comprises and the creatures who try to survive there.

(Click on any image to enlarge)