TWC Artwork | Witty Art : inspiration

woensdag 10 juni 2015

ARTificial Uprising #8: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?

The feeling of being under attack is eminent. I can feel it everywhere. Right now, I can feel it right behind me...

To be contiuned...

woensdag 27 mei 2015

ARTificial Uprising #7: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?

I know people do not believe me, but I know what I feel is true. They are plotting against me. Behind my back. I can feel it.

To be continued...

donderdag 16 april 2015

ARTificial Uprising #6: or just a bad case of artist paranoia?

I am sure that things are taking a turn for the worse... People around me say I am just imagining things but am sure something is going on behind my back. I am sure of it...

To be continued...

zaterdag 4 april 2015

ARTificial Uprising #5: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?

Things have not progressed since the last post, not at all. Not.At.All. They are up to something, I can just feel it. ....

To be continued...

dinsdag 10 maart 2015

ARTificial Uprising #4: or just a bad case of artist paranoia?

Meanwhile, despite all the success, it still feels like something is happening behind my back...

To be continued...

dinsdag 3 maart 2015

ARTificial Uprising #3: or just a bad case of artist paranoia?

It's been a while since my last update and this eerie feeling of being watched with every single move I make, it hasn't gone away. It hasn't gone away at all...

To be continued....

zaterdag 14 februari 2015

ARTificial Uprising #2: or a bad case of artist paranoia (continued)

It's been over two tweeks or more now, and I am getting more and more convinced some of my artwork is up to something. Can't seem to shake off the thought they are plotting something behind my back - and that 'something' might not be in my favour...

To be continued...

maandag 2 februari 2015

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...

zaterdag 18 oktober 2014

Making love in ink: my passion for a beautiful and unpredictable medium

Somebody asked me the other day, when having a look at Witty Art: ''What's it you like so much about working with ink?'' Well, my immediate answer to that was: ''What's not to like?'' - but afterwards, I got thinking and it prompted me to dedicate this blog and perhaps some future ones to what is my favourite medium to work with.

As long as I can remember, even as a young child I have always liked working with ink. There 's just something purely magical about it: the moment you dip your pen or brush into the ink and then, immediately afterwards, in a split second, you need to decide where on that virgin piece of paper to put that first line or brush stroke. It leaves no or very little room for error, and when you make one, you need to either stick with it and work around it or with it, or get rid of the drawing straight away. It's a very pure and intuitive way of working, especially when vigorously using wet-in-wet techniques like I do, thinning thick black Indian ink with water to all kinds and shapes of black, to grey, to almost being translucent. The ink sometimes barely visible on the paper, at other times creating pitchblack surfaces, adding more black and scratching onto the surface of the paper, thus creating multiple layers of black.

That's what I love about working with and creating in ink. It's both hard, unforgiving, leaving no room for mistakes, but also soft, caring, depending on whether you use a pen or brush, and the amount of force or tenderness you apply the ink onto the paper. Well. There it is. My public confession: guess I like to make love to the paper in ink (no, no ink fetish here - apart from that I secretly would like to learn how to tattoo, tough).

But, on a more serious note, creating images for me is a physical process as well as a more intellectual and a spiritual one as well. Especially as my work is all about the undertow, the invisible streams and currents you do not see at the surface of the water. And ink, like watercolour, has a will of its own. Sometimes I follow the ink, sometimes the ink follows me. That process is less obvious and less strong when creating my more cartoonesque work, like in many of The Series (but not all of them) and definitely more prominent with The Singles, which are more abstract, autonomous and a result of purely intuitive working. But still, with ink, you never know, as it's one beautiful, yet totally unpredictable medium you can never, ever fully master, I think. But one can always hope ;-)

dinsdag 22 april 2014

''Cornered": Switching from Single to Serial

''Cornered'' is a series I started working on during last year's fall. It actually didn't start out as a series, I thought the first drawing to be a one-off, like my other ''Single'' Works. But somehow this particular image came back in my mind, and started to appear on paper a couple of times. So, from ''single'' to ''serial'', so to speak, sometimes it just works that way.

Just black indian ink on paper, using various pens and pencils to create lines and texture. I kinda like this little creature trying to almost literally break away from the paper he (or she) feels trapped in. It's a fighter. I am happy to let this one return in a couple of more works and see where his fight to break free will take him/her.

maandag 21 april 2014

What Witty Art takes from philosopher Martha Nussbaum and jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald

"To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world ... it’s based on being more like a plant than like a jewel, something rather fragile, but whose very particular beauty is inseparable from its fragility." - Martha Nussbaum

An absolute must read: philosopher Martha Nussbaum on how to live with our human fragility – a truly inspring conversation with Bill Moyers. Click here to read the whole article on what is one of my most welcome sources for mindfeeds: Brainpickings.

The quote above pretty much touches the core of, ultimately, lies at the heart of my art work: living with human fragility. Learning to live with our imperfections rather than with our so-called qualities, and all that other ''human characteristics'' we so arrogantly think sets us apart from or even puts us above any other living species. As if the possesion of a larger brain and thus our ability to reason makes us the one and only surpreme lifeform on planet Earth. Well, personally, I don't think so.

I don't believe we humans are the superior life species on this planet. The most dominating, yes, absolutely but definitely not superior. Far from it, I'd say.

And that is a re-occuring theme in my work, I suppose. Like in the series ''Perfectly Imperfect MisFits'', which I started early 2011 and 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, made with pencil and ink. The whole series combined consists of out 30 drawings, some of which sold, others still waiting for a brandnew home.

As you can see, these are just little creatures, caught up in the bigger events of their time, some of them resisting it, others just going along with the flow, wherever that may take them.

After all, "It Ain't What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It'', as the late great Ella Fitzgerald once sang, in her superbly lighthearted, carefree, uplifting interpretation of the legendary classic, originally written by jazz musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young. And sometimes, it's just that. No less, no more: ''Take it easy, then your jive will swing''.

The whole concept of human nature and its limited capacities is also notably visible in other works as well, such as ''Limited Human Resources'' (smartphone snapshot below), Egology'' and my interactive art project ''A Great Human''.

donderdag 3 april 2014

'Series' page updated with ''Unforgiven'' and ''Mummies' Dearest''

Just updated the 'Series' page, adding a two piece created last year: ''Unforgiven'', and a whole new series I only recently started, called 'Mummies' Dearest.''

You can view the whole updated Series page by clicking here. ''Mummies' Dearest'', being the most recent series, will appear at top; for ''Unforgiven'', please scroll down a bit further.

About both series:

''Mummies' Dearest'' is all about a Mummy's enduring, all-consuming love for ''her'' little ones. Perhaps, not at all very healthy love - but, nonetheless, still love. And in a cold, heartless, even dystopian world, any bit of love will do.

''Unforgiven'' was highly inspired by a quote taken from the book ''Crime and Punishment'', a creation of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevski:

To go wrong in one's own way is better then to go right in someone else's.

For now, I consider this two-piece to be finished, but you never know, I might change my mind in the future and some new images will appear in my mind.

zaterdag 29 maart 2014

New additions to Witty Art series ''Silenced Minority''

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.

zaterdag 8 maart 2014

Interactive Witty Art Project: What's Your Great Human Statement?

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!

vrijdag 21 februari 2014

'The Singles': the more abstract, darker world of Witty Art?

Recently, I created another page on this blog, featuring an overview of my so-called 'more autonomous works'. Or, as I call them: 'Singles'. These are all individual works that are no part of any series. Each work has its own title and they are more or like ''stand alone images'', though, they are too, somewhere, somehow, intertwined and interconnected with each other.

These ''Singles'' belong to what some people call my more abstract, darker world. And sometimes this part of my work is affectionately refered to as ''Witty Art Dark'' (as whereas the ''Series'' are known as ''Witty Art Light). Well, I can live with this somewhat artificial ''divide'', as it's true that the ''Singles'' are definitely coming from somewhere deep inside of me. It's this kind of work that comes to me without any thinking or planning ahead, the images just pop up as the pen or brush touches the paper or canvas. It just goes from there. Pure instinct, I suppose. If that's ''dark'', then so be it!

Same goes for the titles. They appear ''out of nowhere'', though every now and then I can see where they are coming from. More than often the source is an (online) documentary or film or a piece of music that is playing in the background. For me, the combination of image and title is absolutely crucial. It's like giving each work an individual name. Without it, they are not complete and can't be shown to the world. For whatever reason, that is something I feel very strongly about. Should I ever produce an art work that would go ''untitled'', that'd be an huge exception - but then again, nothing's impossible.

Well, I invite you to have a close look and judge for yourself. And I am always open to feedback. If you feel like it, let me know what you think!

You can find all these and more ''Singles'' on this blogpage.

TWC Artwork | Witty Art

zondag 20 september 2015

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

maandag 17 augustus 2015

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

woensdag 22 juli 2015

ARTificial Uprising #9: or just a bad case of Artist Paranoia?