More new Witty Art that will most likely go on show in September!

Here's a selection of possible candidates to go on show during the September-October artshow at Hostel Ani & Haakien, an event organised by Rotterdam foundation Pica Pica.

The timing of this exhibit could not have been more perfect, because I have been on a major drawing spree off late, fuelled by all kinds of new inspirations and visions - of all sorts. Ranging from a world in turmoil and the bizarre behaviour of the so called human species inhabiting it to feelings of more contemplative,and introspective kind. Like, a journey into the mind of one of the persons I know both best and least: myself.

The results of this latest drawing binge consist of smaller sized artwork, none of them bigger than approximately A5, which is great because it is the perfect format for showcasing this work at Hostel Ani & Haakien: a very cosy, slightly artsy and really intimate place with a undoubtedly international vibe. I checked out the venu earlier this week and the whole atmosphere is perfect for Witty Art to both blend it and stand out at the same time. Which is just the way I like it!

So, I am looking forward to finetuning my final selection for this upcoming exhibition, which opens on Thursday, September 2016. You van find all the information on the opening (which will include not only Witty Art, but live music and food as well!) here on this blog or on the Facebook-eventpage!

A Perfect Day to say goodbye: just a little two-piece I am sharing

 

Just showcasing a little two-piece I created way back in the winter of 2014. The most handsome, sweetest cat in the whole universe had just made his final journey out into The Great Beyond. It was one of those sad, grey, dreary days that the skies just can't stop crying and you feel they are crying because of your loss and your loss only. Pathetic, I know, but then again, we all feel like that sometimes, for some stupid reason or for no reason at all.

Then, Lou Reed's  ''A Perfect Day'' popped up in my playlist. And out came these two: 
''A Perfect Day | A Good Day''

And the skies stopped crying. The sun came out.

And it turned out to be a perfect day after all. A perfect day to say goodbye. 

More Witty Art moved to a happy new home!

Sold these two pieces of Witty Art quite a while ago. Here they are on display at their very happy new owner's home: ''Never Know, Not Again'' (left) and ''Pleased To Meet You #3'' (right). Both drawings were shown at the Pop Up Expo ''Maak Het Mee'', early 2015 and were purchased right there and then by its new owner.

It's always a great feeling to see my work on display at their forever homes! Check this page to see more Witty Art decorating people's homes or offices.

A Wonderful & Wandering Dream: ''Into The Wanderland''

Finally, I found or rather made some time to perform some much needed updates to this blog, starting with the page Witty Art Series 2011-2014. I've added some new (or older) images, some of them not even shown before. Some of these images are proper (low res) scans or photos from my art work, others are made with iPhone or iPad. The latter I do not find to be the most ideal e.g. professional looking, but in my current living and working situation, stuck with no home and no studio, let alone suffice equipment at hand (for that, please read blogs posted here) I have to make do with it. 

And guess what? I actually am pretty content with it for now! 

Anyway, a couple of stuff has been long overdue posting, like ''Into The Wanderland''', which I consider to be one of my more poetic, surrealistic series. Perhaps even dreamlike.

You see, I dream a lot. I know most (highly) creative minds dream a lot and a lot has been written about the relation between sleep, dreams and creativity. The thing with me is, whereas most people remember their dreams to some agree, I seldom remember mine, except when they are extremely vivid and almost physical. But, normally I do not remember them.

Yet I cannot help but thinking that, in a way, I do, as sometimes I do look at my work and wonder where some of the images appearing on paper come from. Surely, they must come from somewhere, either from the subconscious, which, I suppose, is the domain of sweet dreams and (un)pleasant nightmares. As well as vivid imagination and translucent visions.

With Witty Art, I know where the inspiration for some works comes from and I can recall that very directly and also talk about it. Where it was born from, which grounds it is rooted in. With others, I can absolutely not. They just occur. They just are. And sometimes are just as elusive are to me as they are to others. 

So, what can I tell you about ''Into The Wanderland'', then? Well, that it's not about ''The Wonderland'' that a certain Alice gets lost in, nor that it's about some magic fairytale kingdom from my or your childhood. Not the stuff that dreams are made off, I'm afraid, even though mythical creatures like unicorns do seem to appear. This Wanderland is the domain of nightmares rather than dreams, a place in which you are lured into to wander but are strictly forbidden to do so. Well, it seems to be a somewhat inhospitable place to me, at least, but, you, the viewer, are kindly invited to think, to feel and to experience otherwise.

Such is the case with ''Into The Wanderland''. I can only conclude it must have been one Wonderful and Wandering Dream - so I hope to dream it more often.

ARTificial Uprising #11: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?

... and even in my temporary surroundings, I discover that Witty Art is conspiring against me...

To be continued...

ARTificial Uprising #10: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?

You can never be fully sure.. You can never feel fully safe... 

To be continued....

New Witty Art created live during this series of Summer Pop Up Expo's!

 


One of the reasons, this series of Summer Pop Up Expo's was such great fun, was because of the way the participating artists encouraged each other to create work live on location. I myself made what I think to be quite an impressive number of drawings, using pencil, crayon and charcoal: the simple basics necessary for the highly enjoyable art of drawing. Whicb, in my case, is just a severe attack of Gotta Draw.

Also, working with (seemingly) simple materials such as pencil and charcoal, instead of using my biggest love ink, enables me to work out a couple of new ideas, as I have been stewing on new images and combinations of elements, previously used in Witty Art.

Hope you like it, and feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a comment below this blogpost; or, alternatively, on my Instagram feed, where I post Witty Art on almost a daily basis. If you are an Instagram user, feel freel to follow me there as well!

More pictures of my Witty Art Wall during last weekend's Pop Up!

Just some more pictures of my Witty Art Wall during last weekend's Pop Up Expo at Entrepothaven, Rotterdam. 

It included many works that I hadn't publically showcased before, or only in its first stages, as a rough sketch. 

My Witty Art Wall sparked interesting conversation during our latest Pop Up!

Again, a good turn out for second Pop Up Exhibition at Entrepothaven, Rotterdam. It was great to see so many peole take an interest in my Witty Art Wall, and, ofcourse, Witty Art. It is always a pleasure to engage in conversations with people who are genuinely interested in my work; and there were quite a few of those during the last weekend. 

Some visitors really took their time to take in the whole wall, making up their own stories, as they were combining words and images. That was an inspiring thing to see take place!

The icing on the cake was this very personal tribute made by fellow artist Herman Schouwenburg, who had come especially to have a look at Witty Art, after he had first discovered it during the opening of my showcase at Rotterdam Coffeebar Ookami/Heiilige Rotterdamse Boontjes Koffie. I felt both honoured and touched when I saiw it - and gotta admit it, Herman really got the essence of my work and managed to capture it in this image below: 

If you want to see more of Herman's work, go visit his Flickr!

Witty Art Wall turns out to be one big live sketchbook!

It's been just over a week since the highly succesful 'Maak Het Mee' Pop Up Expo closed down. Started originally as just a two-day weekend pop-up as part of a somewhat bigger Makers' Movement Festival taking part in Rotterdam (and partially co-organised by me) I never expected it to be such a success. In the end, the exhibition got extended not only one, but three times in a row, running for almost two months. So, the creative entrepreneur in me was and is very happy with the result.

But from a more personal, artist's perspective, it has proven to be even better, as I used this opportunity not only as a great way to showcase my work, but as a chance to develop myself further, by using the raw, somewhat worn out state of the location as an inspiration to create new Witty Art on the spot. So I came up with the concept of creating my own Witty Art Wall. 

One wall, completely filled with Witty Art Work: drawings, in all various kinds of sizes and formats, created in ink and/or pencil, some finished, some not, some created on the spot, some finished on that very spot, others taken home and finsihed at some later point. And while the exhibition got extended over the following weeks, the wall's content changed constantly, developed, while sketches and drawings started to influence, then interfere and even interact with each other. And as a serious case of GottaDraw set in, I found that my Witty Art Wall had become one big giant sketchbook in itself.

It's a concept I will definitely use more, as the presentation really suits Witty Art, it's easy to set up and its flexiblity makes it ideal for pop-ups. And, most importantly, it leaves so much room to draw and create live, to explore and to experiment.

New page online: impressions of Witty Art at their owner's place

And, in addition to my previous post about the newly added page 'People About Witty Art', I have also updated this blog with another one, entitled 'Witty Art at Your Place'. This page contains pictures (of various quality, some are quick snapshots, others were taken especially for the occasion) of Witty Art at their new owner's places. In their homes, their (home)offices, their stores or otherwise.

It really makes me proud to see how many Witty Art works have already found their way to new homes. And, even more, to see how happy they make their new owners. Had I not already suffer from a bad, bad case of 'GottaDraw', then this would have been all the encoragement I need to never ever stop creating my art.

ARTificial Uprising #1: or just a bad case of artist paranoia?

 

That eerie and somewhat haunted feeling when you feel that your own artwork is plotting something against you #1.

To be continued...

''Face Values'': is what you see, truly what you get?

Those who have been following Witty Art for a while, might have noticed that I seldom or very rarely depict actual humans. It's more humanlike and much more hybridlike creatures that appear in The World of Witty Art.

It's not that I am not interested in people. On the contrary.

People and especially their pysche, the way they behave and why they behave the way they do, fascinates me deeply. In fact, it's the very drive behind the creation of a lot of my artwork as it's rooted in a huge fascination for life and that bizarre breed called humanity.

So, the hybrid and cartoonesque creatures that inhabit my world may not look human, they do often behave in a humanlike way. Perhaps, for me as an artist and a humble human myself, that provides a safer way of depicting what I'd like to call ''the perfect imperfection'' human nature - including all its strenghts and weaknesses, its beautiful blessings and favourite flaws, all its ''perfect imperfections''. 

It is in that light you have to view my series ''Face Values'', which I started in 2013 and which has been on display a couple of times during exhibtions and art events since then. One day, I found myself randomly playing around with humanshaped faces and the result turned out to be a bunch of mixed up facial structures, with a little bit of expressionist and cubist influences here and there.

The question here, however is: ''When looking at things face value, does it mean: what you see, is what you get?''