Karmijn Winterexpo at Community Center Boezemstraat with Witty Art!

Last weekend, a couple of members of the Rotterdam Art Collective Karmijn hosted a small but quaint opening of a new show of their work at the community center Boezemstraat 187, in the Rotterdam-Crooswijk area.

When asked to join this exhibition, I decided to keep the same selection that was already in place for October's edition of the artmanifestation Kunstroute Kralingen-Crooswijk, but then arranged a bit differently. Still quite happy with the result and I might decide to replace this selection with some other Witty Art but not sure about that.
 

On show are the three works that make up my '2013 series ''Heavy Weight'' and a couple of Singles from 2013-2014 - and gotta say, they do make a nice combination together. I also think it works nicely because of ''Heavy Weight'' displaying a more illustrative style of my work as whereas the four Singles each are a good example of the more autonomous, surrealistic side of Witty Art. 

Ofcourse, feel free to check out my Witty Art Singles from 2015-2016 - and when I am typing this I am rather embarrased to admit I have not properly updated this Art Blog since then, instead being far more active on Instagram to show and promote my art. This is partially because of sincere lack of time, as other parts of my creative business sadly often take priority over promoting my art, partially because I am still figuring out what type of website would cater my needs best. I know I do need a new website and I have been looking into Wordpress and yes, Wordpress it'll be - but I am still not sure which template would suit me best, what is the best way to communicate about my artwork and the various ''branches'' of Witty Art; whether to incorporate a webshop into this website or host a separate one, etc. etc.

Things that do need urgent sorting out but then again .. that takes time and time, again sadly, is not always around here in abudance. BUT, must get around to it, I know!

However, am drifting away from this blog's actual topic, this winterexhibition with my fellow Karmijn members which include, amongst others, Jan Sinke, Willem van Hest, Lara Muradjan, Vera Witleer, Hans van Rongen and Michiel Boelaerts.

So, this exhibition will be on up and untill with Sunday February 1st. As the location is being actively used as a community center during weekdays, the exhibtion will be open on Saturdays only from 13.00 - 17.00, with at least one of us artists present. There is also the small possiblity of the exhibition being extended, but ofcourse I will let you know in due time.

I myself will be there on various occasions and will communicate such and other updates through either this blog or via social media, especially my Witty Art account on Instagram.

New group exhibition of Karmijn opens on August 28th - including Witty Art!

Vanaf 28 augustus t/m 8 september is een showcase van Witty Art te zien als onderdeel van de grote groepsexpositie van Kunstenaarscollectief Karmijn in de Rotterdamse Fenixloods!

Graag nodig ik jullie allemaal van harte uit voor de opening op woensdag 28 augustus a.s. om 19.30 door Jisca Bijlsma, directeur van het Chabot Museum Rotterdam. 

De expositie is daarna nog te zien t/m zondag 8 september en is dagelijks geopend van 12.00 tot 18.00 uur. Je vindt de expo op de tweede verdieping van de Fenixloods, Veerlaan 21 op Rotterdam Katendrecht.

De groepsexpositie toont werk van (bijna alle) leden van Karmijn en geeft daarmee een goed beeld van de diversiteit aan disciplines en stijlen binnen deze vereniging van ondernemende kunstenaars uit Rotterdam.

Zelf toon ik vier werken uit een nog niet eerder vertoonde Witty Art Series: ''Once Upon A Time Never Happened'', bestaande uit totaal zes werken, elk vervaardigd in 2015. Een serie, die tot stand kwam door middel van een proces dat ik ''Creative Destruction and Creative Reconstruction'' ben gaan noemen en hoe dat uitmondde in de allereerste Witty Collage Art werken ooit.

Lees meer over het ontstaan van deze serie in dit blog over ''Once Upon A Time Never Happened!'

Extra: lees meer over het vervolg daarop in dit blog over Witty Collage Art.

Nieuwsgierig? Je hebt binnenkort de kans om vier werken uit deze serie in persoon te kunnen zien, en wel van woensdag 28 augustus t/m zondag 8 september in de Fenixloods, Veerlaan 21 op Rotterdam-Katendrecht.

Tot ziens!

(english version below this picture)

(english)


Proudly presenting another selection of Witty Art as part of a greater groupexhibition of Rotterdam Art Collective Karmijn. This exhibition will show work of (nearly all) members of Karmijn and in doing so, proves to be an excellent showcase of the variety of styles and discpilines within this artists run collective.

You are all invited to join us at the Fenixloods on Rotterdam Katendrecht for the exhibition's grand opening on Wednesday August 28th, 19.30hrs by Jisca Bijlsma, the director of the renowned Chabot Museum Rotterdam.

After that, the exhibtion will be open daily from 12.00 tot 18.00 hrs up and untill with Sunday September 8th. You can find the expo on the second floor of the Fenixloods at Veerlaan 21, Rotterdam (Katendrecht area).

I myself will be showing four works from my series ''Once Upon A Time Never Happened'', born in 2015 out of a process I've come to call ''Creative Deconstruction and Creative Reconstruction'' - a process that eventually resulted in the creation of the first Witty Collage Art ever.

Please read more about this series and its birth in this blog about ''Once Upon A Time Never Happened!'

And, while yoú're at it, please read even more about where it led me creatively in this blog about Witty Collage Art.

Curious to see more? You can see four of these in person at the Fenixloods Rotterdam, Veerlaan 21 Rotterdam (Katendrecht area) from August 28th - September 8th!

See you there!

Four Witty Art Drawings got published in brandnew Dutch magazine De Horizonvreter

Am absolutely thrilled to announce that four of my Witty Art drawings have been published in the first edition of the brandnew magazine ''De Horizonvreter'' (literally: ''Devourer of Horizons'').

De Horizonvreter is a Dutch magazine, entirely and solely dedicated to "The Strange, The Odd & The Unknown". It features a collection of short stories, poems and art by Dutch writers, poets and artists, all dedicated to the fantastic, the grotesque and the bizarre.

What makes this magazine really stand out is the enormous high level of dedication put in by its editors (it took over two years to realise this first edition!) and that they've asked all contributors for an autonomous piece of work - all works, short stories, poems and the artwork, were collected first and then put together, in what can't have been an easy process but somehow the endresult feels like a very natural, almost organic one.

The editors chose the following four Witty Art drawings to be published:

"But We Just Got Here" (above)  en "A World To Be Blamed" (below, both from 2013) accompanying the short story "Clowns" by Martijn van Koolwijk, a piece pretty much written in a newspaper-like style, about a young documentary filmmaker becoming a clown, thus ultimately meeting his gruesome fate....

"Not There, Not Anymore" (2014) accompanying "Eindeloos Vakantie" (''Vacation Without An End'') by Olivier van Nooten, a darkish, Roald Dahl-like tale about young love, disapperance and murder with an unexpected twist.

"Shall We Dance" (2013) accompanying the short story "Kerstmis Aan Boord de Terminus 969" (''Christmas Aboard The Terminus 969'') by Joachim Heijndermans, about a distant-future Christmas spent in the dystopian surroundings for an almost abanbonded spaceship... 

These are all short stories written in Dutch, so if any of my Dutch followers or anyone would like to order a copy regardless: De Horizonvreter costs € 8,40 each (amount is including postal costs) and for that amount you'll get a grand total of 45 pages full of fantastically strange stories and ditto art. You can order your copy via email: dehorizonvreter@gmail.com.

If you are not able to read Dutch but would like to own a copy anyway, feel free to order yours too - but do know that, if you are living abroad, international shipping costs ofcourse will be charged.

 





 

Brandnew Witty Art at a brandnew exhibition at the Marriott Hotel Rotterdam!

Photo: Yvonne Ottervanger

An artist's life often resembles that of a rollercoaster, well, mine certainly is. As my Open Studio Weekend went out of the window because I became unexpectedly and horridly ill with the flu, a new opportunity arose when I was offered the opportunity to join the latest Fresh Expo by Bubble Art Projects at the Rotterdam Marriott Hotel.

An excellent opportunity to showcase brandnew Witty Art, from a brandnew series: ''Something Fishy Going Wrong (Part 1) | Jellyfish Don't Play By The Rules!'. I will share more details of and a bit of background behind this series in a later blog.

So, last Saturday July 8th I found myself in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in my hometown Rotterdam, in the company of seven other extremely gifted female artists, ready to get our artwork exhibited. Together, it didn't take us long to get our works up on the walls, after which each of us was given some time to talk a bit about our work. It was really interesting to hear more about each artwork, how they came to be and in what way the artists were driven to create their work. 

When it was my turn, I told a bit about myself, about my work as an artist/illustrator and, overall, visual storyteller and how I like to visualize the world that lives in my head: The World of Witty Art and all its inhabitants, the outcasts, the sole soul survivors, the perfectly imperfect misfits that are so dear to my heart. And we spoke about the symbolism behind the jellyfish - but, as said, more on that in a later blog.

(photo: Yvonne Ottervanger)

Then, it was time for an extended three course lunch together, during which we exchanged more thoughts and ideas about our artwork, art in general and experiences as professional artists. Connections were established and even some plans for future collaborations were made!

It was a very well spent and inspirtational afternoon and I can safely say that for me, I will definitely exhibit my work through Bubble Projects again, as it was a very satisfying experience and well organised event.



 
The Fresh Summer Expo at the Rotterdam Marriott, Weena 686 Rotterdam, can be seen up and untill with Friday August 30th and shows a very diverse range of original artwork by Grace Wychowanska, Julia Maximova, Izabella Verhagen, Yvonne Ottervanger, Rita Camphuijsen, Dinie van Buuren and Christy de Witt.

So, if you happen to be around the coming weeks, send me a message and who knows, we can meet up over a cup of coffee at the Marriot Rotterdam and I can show you the exhibition in person!

(c) All photos on this blog by Christy de Witt unless mentioned otherwise

It's been a while... but here is your long overdue update on Witty Art!

So, about time I started posting again on my Witty Art Blog! It's been too long - and an update is long overdue. Sorry about that, dear friends and followers.

It kind of looks like nothing has been going on with all things Witty, but I can assure you, such is absolutely not the case - on the contrary. Those of you who have been following me and my art on Instagram, know that I have been steadily busy growing my volume of art and my art business as well as a whole bunch of Witty Projectwork (blog mainly in Dutch, sorry).

However, as often is the case with artists who run other businesses, those Witty Projects take up a significant amount of my time and last one-and-a-half year has been filled to the brink with them. That is why over the last year or so, my main focus was on my Instagram page - and to be honest, that could've been a whole lot better, as well.

But, hey, sometimes sh*t happens and instead of piling a lot of blame on myself for 'not having done this' or wining about ''shoud've done that', I choose to focus on the positive and look at the many wonderful creative things that DID happen over the last 1,5 year!

So, let's list a couple!

Became a member of Rotterdam Artists Collective Karmijn 
Early 2018, I joined this Rotterdam based artists collective and participated in several group exhibitions and other art events. Karmijn also provides lots of opportunity for connecting and engaging with other local artists as well as offering a bigger podium their artwork.

First time participant of Kunstroute Kralingen-Crooswijk | Artroute Kralingen-Crooswijk
The first time ever I got to exhibit my work during this well known Rotterdam art manifestation. I showcased two pieces of Witty Art as part of a group exhibition with Artists Collective Karmijn.

And ofcourse I hope to participate again in this year's 2019 edition of the Kunstroute Kralingen-Crooswijk.

Steady sales of Witty Art
Throughout 2018 and 2019, quite a number of Witty Art made its way to new owners, something I am very happy with. I've sold work during exhibitions and via my Instagram and also via my Facebook-page. For instance, I sold three works from my series ''Perhaps Happiness Is Truly The Worst State Of Mind'' straight out of my portfolio during an the End Of Year Expo with Karmijn.

First ever international sales - via Instagram!
Even more promising: 2018 marked the year of my first international sales, as Witty Art traveled all the way to Canada. The last couple of months saw Witty Art move to Italy and Australia as well! And all through I made via my Instagram, which only reinforces my belief in the power of social media as a tool to connect with people and build an online community of Witty Art Lovers.

Commissioned work
Last year, I also got a couple of special commissions, ranging from portraying people's pets but also customized versions of existing drawings.

Joined Domo Eclectica
Far from being the umpteenth conceptstore, Domo Eclectica is a warehouse for unique art, vintage and design based in The Hague. Last year, I was inivited by Domo's owner/curator Mariella van der Net to showcase my work there and a small collection of original Witty Art Work can be purchased there. Amongst them my series ''Minor Kitchen Sink Dramas'.

... and equally, or even more importantly, because without it, all things Witty Art related would be at a total stand still:

Artistic growth
Ever since I started creating art again (back in 2008) and started running my art practice in 2011, I feel I have grown so much as an artist, continously working on my 'signature style', developing my talents, honing my skills and building on a consistent body of work.

But I can truly say that the last couple of years, say from 2015 up till now, have really defined and refined both me and my work. I truly believe that I am now ready to truly claim my spot amongst the international art community and reach out to a bigger audience, as I feel that my work deserves it to be seen by as many people as possible.

I have started experimenting with other techniques and materials (again), resulting in a series of mixed media art collages and, very recently, I started working with acrylic ink and paint on canvas. Below are some of the Witty Art Collages I made.

However, I do feel I have not utilized the full potential of chances given to me over the last couple of years. Partially because of that thing I call crippling inner doubt mixed with some sadly persistant reminisence of a low self esteem caused by older and more recent life experiences (such as losing my house in 2015). And partially because of other work obligations, such as projects I do for others because, you gotta make living and I can't live off my art alone... yet!

Well. Not yet.

But that is, ultimately, my aim. To build a thriving Witty Art Business, if not imperium, business, which includes both my art as well as my art coaching practice, the latter aimed at creative and social entrepreneurs furthering their business). And finding a good balance between those two and staying healthy. Or rather, well, not going anymore insane than I already am ;-)

That ultimately means, I am going to have make some clear choices the coming time. On what to do - and what not. And that all comes down on focus. A clear focus on a clear strategy on how to get there, on how to achieve my goals without losing the drive and passion for creating Witty Art. On how to realise my ambitions without compromising my artistic vision.

That, I am going to work on this year - in fact, I have been working on it for quite some time. Like, allocating a certain and fixed amount of time dedicated to Witty Art, for instance. I allocated more time to visit exhibitions, art galleries, museums, art talks and seminars. To engage more with other artists and curators, in real life but also online, via Instagram and other means. And more.

So, time to start both updating and maintaining my Witty Art Blog on a regular basis, showcasing finished work as well as previews, news on upcoming exhibitions and other events, thoughts behind certain works. And, setting up a whole new set up for my international Witty Art Newsletter, or rather, a Witty e-Zine, as I prefer to call it.

And more, so much, much more! So, expect a whole lot more action on this blog again, starting NOW!