New solo showcase of Witty Art opens at Saturday February 8th!

(scroll below for the English version of this text):

GEEN onderdeel van Art Rotterdam, WEL zo leuk voor alle vrienden, fans en volgers van mijn Witty Art:

Graag nodig ik jullie hierbij uit voor de opening van een kleine maar fijne solo showcase van Witty Art:

‘’It’s A Wander-Ful World’’

Zaterdag 8 februari a.s. om 16.00u
Inloop vanaf 15.00 uur

Locatie is de intieme en o zo gezellige huiskamer van Het Nieuwe Westen: De Woonkamer van de Burgemeester, aan de Burgemeester Meineszstraat 102 Rotterdam.

De Woonkamer serveert een kleine borrel, er zijn wat hapjes en natuurlijk ben ik er zelf ook. En er is vooral heel veel Witty Art te zien!

Over deze expositie:
‘It’s A Wander-Ful World’ bevat werk van mijn hand uit de periode 2013 – heden: Varierend van eerder vertoond werk, zelden gezien werk en zelf gloedjenieuw werk waarvan de inkt nauwelijks nog droog is. Ok, bij wijze van spreken, dan.

De expo ‘It’s A Wander-Ful World’ kent ook een primeur: vanaf 8 februari komen er ook (digitale) Witty Art Prints in de verkoop, zowel in limited edition als on demand.

Bereikbaarheid:
De Woonkamer van de Burgemeester is makkelijk bereikbaar met tramlijnen 21, 23 en 24 halte Vierambachtsstraat: je stapt uit, steekt over, even dranklokaal De Burgemeester passeren aan je linkerhand en je wandelt rechtstreeks de Burgemeester Meineszlaan in. Links aanhouden en je komt vanzelf bij nummer 102 uit.

Ook buslijnen 38 (halte Burgemeester Meineszplein) en 44 (halte Vierambachtstraat/hoek Heemraadssingel) stoppen vlakbij.

Met dank aan de Woonkamer van de Burgemeester voor het ter beschikking stellen van de ruimte aan lokale kunstenaars zoals ikzelf en het sponsoren van de drankjes; en in het bijzonder aan Hans de Heus voor al zijn ondersteuning in deze!

(english version below this picture)

 

NO part of ART Rotterdam, BUT indeed a great opportunity for all you friend, fans and followers of Witty Art out there:

I’m happy to invite you to the opening of a small but ever so great solo showcase of my Witty Art:

‘’It’s A Wander-Ful World’’

Saturday February 8th at 16.00hrs
Doors open at 15.00hrs

Location is the quaint and cosy neighborhood living room called De Woonkamer van de Burgemeester - which literally translates into: The Mayor's Living Room, located at Burgemeester Meineszlaan 102 Rotterdam.

De Woonkamer will serve some drinks, there will be some nibbles and ofcourse, I will be around! And, ofcourse, there will be LOTS of Witty Art to be seen!

About the exhibition:
‘It’s a Wander-Ful World’ will show a selection of my work throughout the years 2013 – up till now. It’ll range from previously shown work, seldomly shown work and even brandnew drawings, the ink barely dry! Well ok, as a matter of speaking, that is.

This expo‘It’s A Wander-Ful World’ will also see the launch of digital Witty Art Prints, which will be available from Saturday February 8th (both in limited editon as well as ‘on demand’ – more details to be unveiled at the opening!)

How to get there:

All three tramlines 21, 23 and 24, stop Vierambachtsstraat. Cross the street, pass local bar De Burgemeester on your left side and you find yourself in the Burgemeester Meineszlaan. Keep walking straight ahead and you'll bump into De Woonkamer.

Both buslines 38 (stop Burgemeester Meinezsplein) and 44 (stop Vierambachtsstraat/Heemraadssingel) will get you there as well.

A major thank you to De Woonkamer van de Burgemeester for so generously opening up their livingroom to local artists such as myself and for sponsoring the drinks; especially Hans de Heus for all his support!

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.

 





 

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!

Witty Art to be seen in Theater Rotterdam Schouwburg as part of The Museum of Dogs!

Ok, now it's finally official! Behind the scenes, Team Dogparade010 has been working really hard on a new project and it's gonna be a real highlight for me, both as part of the team as well as an artist: The Museum of Dogs, a co-production by Dogparade010 and Theater Rotterdam.

This pop-up Museum of Dogs will open its doors in the main hall of Theater Rotterdam Schouwburg, showcasing a range of dog-themed artwork by both professional, amateur and outsider artists from Rotterdam. Some well-known, some relatively known, some completey unknown to the mainstream audience. Amongst them, yours truly - and I am indeed very proud to be part of this exhibition, which basically is a collection of ''all things dog'' in the line of ''The Museum of Everything''. All works will be shown ''French Salon Style'', creating what we have named The Wall of Dogs. 

Simultaneously, we will show a collection of dogphotography, again by both professionals and amateurs as well as special photoselections provided by the Dutch Fotomuseum Rotterdam (about 100 year photography of dogs and humans) and the Belasting & Douanemuseum Rotterdam ((featuring dog with jobs like snifferdogs and therapydogs). This Digital Wall of Dogs will be shown on the lifesize Mediawand (basically the biggest TV-screen in the country) in the Hal of Theater Rotterdam.

You can find all information on the flyer, which again is a creation from Dogparade010's trusted designer Grootzus.

All this because of the rerun of the popular Theater Rotterdam familyshow ''Woef Side Story'', a musical about streetdog Toto and upperclass dog Marina who fall in love together, with a whole LOT of consequences, but in the end, love wins. Romeo and Julia go doggystyle, so to speak.  It's, ofcourse an adaption of the famous musical ''West Side Story'', but with dog characters in the lead and Dutch versions of the music score originally written by Leonard Bernstein.

Well, if this is not something look forward to, whether you are a doglover or not, I don't know what is.

The official opening of The Museum of Dogs is on Tuesday December 19th at 17.00 hrs and after that, the museum will open daily from 11.00 to 23.00 hrs, all the way through Christmas up and untill with the final closer at January 6th, 2018: the one-day mini festival We Love Dogs.

So, what exactly am I going to show for this special exhibit then? Well, that will be revealed in another blogpost, SOON. 

Studio PuRRR opened up for the first time for Kadefestival 2017 - including small showcase of Witty Art!

So, last Sunday, we opened up our Studio PuRRR for the public, who came to the Kadefestival Delfshaven (a local festival in the Rotterdam area Tussendijken), right at our very doorstep at the Spangesekade and organised by our partner Schiezicht. My creative partner Deborah van de Beld and I'd decided to put together a small showcase of our creative skills, resulting in some Witty Art on the walls and a bit of Deborah's handmade costumework on display.

As this is my Witty Art Blog, I will focus on my own presentation here, but you if want to follow both our individual and combined creative and culinary projects, please follow Studio PuRRR on both Facebook, Instagram and ofcourse, our brandnew Blog.

For this occasion, I opted for a small presentation of a series still pretty much in progress: ''TEST L.A.B. (Lost Accidental Babies)'', a series featuring one of the most popular characters in Witty Art: UnBunny. This time, UnBunny finds himself captive in what appears to be a test lab facility where UnBunnies like himself are subjected to a series of sinister experiments, resulting in them losing shape and form and ultimately their mind.

A gruesome fate, you wouldn't want to wish upon anyone, however, as we catch glimpes of life outside, the question comes to mind whether life in the madhouse is to be prefered above the real world gone even madder. Also, if you have lost your mind, who says you cannot be happy regardless? Does one really need a sane mind to be really truly and fully happy in this world?

To be fair, questions like these pop up in my mind quite often...

I showed this series, which I originally started in 2012 and is very much up and running in 2017, before at a Pop Up Expo in the beginning of 2015, but for this occasion I thought it'd be nice to show some of the drawings still in progress. As to give the viewers a bit of an impression how Witty Art is created, in this case from the initial first pencil sketches to adding the lines in ink and adding the layers of watercolouring.

Consider it a bit of ''The Making of Witty Art'', so to speak.

Directly facing those poor little TEST UnBunnies, on the opposite wall, you can see a small selection of four so-called Singles, all of them created back in 2013-2014. These have been on display on several locations before, amongst others at Route du Nord (edition 2014) and at private artgallery Lijnbaan140 (2016) and I felt that their minimalistic mood would contradict with the colourful explosive force of the TEST L.A.B.-series in an interesting way.

After all, both type(s) of work reflect the World of Witty Art, albeit in different manners, but they definitely are firmly rooted in common ground.

During the day, quite a number of interested people came into our studio and had a look at our presentation, which led to often very entertaining and interesting conversations about our work and our studio.

So this was a very good 'test run' as far as opening up our studio is concerned, a thing we definitely are willing and planning to do more often, by organising exhibitions and other creative and culinairy events, such as our pop up restaurant Tante Timmie Kookt (Tante Timmie's Kitchen) and more!

As said above, if you don't want to miss out on upcoming Studio PuRRR events, please follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram.