Upgrading this blog while rediscovering unfinished Witty Art

Currently, I am busy with a proper upgrade of this Witty Art Blog. As in: removing bad quality pictures and replacing with perhaps not the best ones, but at least better ones, updating and expanding the Series and Singles pages in particular, as I was also lagging behind with posting previously unpublished artwork.

You now can check the following updated pages:

Singles:
Witty Art Singles, Part 2 (2015-2016)

Series:
Witty Art Series, Part 2 (2015-2016)
Witty Art Series, Part 1 (2011-2014) 

To me, the good thing about an upgrading process like this, is it makes me go through all my files again, rediscovering a whole bunch of stuff I myself had more or less forgotten about. That is especially the case with the work I was working on when I had to move out of my home and my studio, during the summer of 2015. During that very turbulent time, I basically store away all my artwork in boxes and containers, making sure it was stored safely at the home of a good and trusted friend, untill I'd be able to move into either a new home or at least, a new studio to work in.

But with most of my work stored away and more or less unaccessible to me, I lost track of some stuff I had been working on. But by going through all my files on my harddisk, looking for and sorting better quality pictures or enhancing them digitally, I also stumbled across many photographs I'd taken of work shortly before I had to leave my old studio. Amongst these pictures were many of works-in-progress, like the ones I am publishing on this blogpost.

Looking at many of these files, actually meant a big motivational boost for me. It's not that I really had forgotten about them, it's more that I saw the progress I was making at that time, and as my art developed even further over this last year, I can't wait to start working on this now almost two year old works again!

Works, that are undoubtedly waiting patiently for their time to come.

Well, they don't have to wait that much any longer - as the really, really good new is ...  I will definitely be able to move into a brandnew creative studio over the coming weeks. A new place to work in, to draw, paint, create with whatever means and materials I feel like. A place, where Witty Art can and will be created.

A move, that will also mark a new creative collaboration as well! I will elaborate more on that in a later stage - but for those of you who cannot contain their curiosity, it's got everything to do with the new workplace & projectspace of Studio PuRRR!

Please keep an eye on this blog for more detailed information coming up SOON!

 

On working with rediscovered materials and yes, more new Witty Art!

 
So, the previous post showcased a couple of brandnew Witty Art Singles - and, surprise, surprise, so does this one. As I said before, there is a LOT of new work waiting to be featured on this blog, so might as well share all previews as soon as possible. Which is now ;-) 

Perhaps I should write just a bit on the techniques and materials I used for making many of these drawings. Ofcourse, my favourite material without a doubt is still ink and will forever and always be ink and it's fair to say that without my treasured dip pens I'd be lost. Also, a couple of years back, in 2014, I wrote this blogpost on my undying, eternal passion for ink. Nothing has changed since then.

But other materials managed to grab my attention off late, as I rediscovered working with pencil, charcoal and especially conté crayon again. I love how it helps me to add more or a different sense of depth to a drawing, to play with light and dark, if not dark and darker, but still keeping it 'light'. I love how these different materials interact and often fight each other, as their characteristics either work with or against each other.

Last year, I kind of rediscovered working with mixed media again and did so in series such as ''Redemption Day Is Not Installed'' and ''Once Upon A Time... Never Happend!'' 

So far, to be able to work again with different mediums and materials together, mixing and exploring them, has certainly enriched my work, as I rediscovered skills I'd thought were gone and lost. Turns out, I didn't. For sure, ink is still ny number one love but guess there are some pretty good runners up there now! So, I hope you will stick around to see where this path will take me too.

If you wish, you are free to explore older Singles from the years 2011-2014 and from 2015 up till now.

Brandnew fresh previews of brandnew Witty Art Singles!

Apart from working on several older and new(er) Witty Art Series, such as ''One Step Forward (How Many Steps Back?'' and the most recent additions to ''EarthRocks & MoonSwings'', I've been also busy creating new Witty Art Singles: artwork that are no part of a specific themed series or featuring a fixed main ''lead character'' in it. Which does not mean they are not somehow bound by underlying themes and threads, they most certainly are - but in a far more 'loose' way than is the case with my series.

So, I actually have a huge volume of work not published here on this blog before, though I showcased some previews on my Instagram feed. I now feel it's about time to share some out here, as well. Well, some previews, that is.

What I am most pleased with, is the development of my artwork. Yes, it's still definitely signature ''Witty Art'', so still definitely me all over, but I can also see a certain artistic growth over time. I hasten to add, for me ''growth'' does not necessarily mean ''growing up'' or ''maturing''. To me, ''growth'' here means the deepening of my work, as more and more layers get exposed, more and more layers seem to be added as well. As in: often I still don't know what awaits me when I start drawing and the final outcome often still surprises me.

So, I honestly hope, that by keeping on drawing, I will keep on surprising myself and therefore, I hope I keep on surprising you, the viewers, too.

The adventure that is art, and in this case, Witty Art, my art, coninues. And I could not wish for more than for you all to join me on this beautiful adventure! 

If you wish, you are free to explore older Singles from the years 2011-2014 and from 2015 up till now.


 

NOT inspired by Alice in Wonderland: ''Up And Down The Rabbit Hole'' (a preview)

Just wanted to share a couple of previews of a new series with all friends and followers of Witty Art out there. A series of A5-sized black and white pencil drawings, some with an added touch of conté crayon or charcoal to them. Again, featuring a rabbit like creature. As this time I am not that certain of what the underlying themes are, as sometimes they are just as elusive to me as to those viewing my work, I've apptly named this series ''Up And Down The Rabbit Hole'', courtesy by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland ofcourse.

Not that ''Alice'' was a direct source of inspiration. As great as my appreciation is for having come up with legendary characters such as The White Rabbit and The Cheshire Cat, somehow, I have never been really fond of the story of Alice in Wonderland. Why exactly? I really don't know. There were other books and stories that captured my imagination as a child and somehow, Alice and all that she gets up to, never managed to do so, despite having the book several times as a child, a teenager and later, as an adult as well.
 
Mind you, I do value it highly as an important work of literature and storytelling in its own right.
But most ''popular'' children's books and fairy tales were more or less wasted on me, to be honest. Well, apart from some extraordinary exceptions to the rule, and I can reassure you those have enormously influenced my life as well as my artwork. More on that particular subject in a later blog (and a long overdue one).

For now, I will happily work further on this series, and will see where this one takes me - perhaps up and down a few undiscovered rabbit holes of my own, I suppose. In which case, I will happily let my very own colony of UnBunnies lead the way!

Special commission: EarthRocks & MoonSwings are still rocking away!

 
This week I am working a very special commission, for a very special occasion. A special request, coming from a good friend, who displayed a great deal of interest in my series ''EarthRocks & MoonSwings'', which I started a couple of years ago. To be precise, in the years in 2012-2013 and I had not been working on this particular series since that time. If you like, this is the blogpost in which I introduced them to the world.

There are quite a few people out there who happen to own a piece of this series, basically a tale of an unconditional friendship, an unbreakable bond between Little Earth & Little Moon, formed when they were young, way back when their galaxy was young too - and not one that far, far, far away. A happy and caring duo, who are always there for each other, no matter how Rocky the Road and whatever Mood will Swing... You see, there is a little hidden corner in the dystopian World of Witty Art that you might call a happy, carefree place. It's there where Little Moon & Little Moon play, walk, dance and have fun together. For as long as EarthRocks & MoonSwings, everything's gonna be just fine ... ;-)

So, I created a couple of new ones, 11 in total. These new additions are a bit bigger than the ones from the first batch from 2012-2013. Those all measured 10x 15 cm and these new ones are each about the size of an A5. I used the same materials as back then, starting with graphite pencil just to sketch the initial outlay and then progressing with black indian ink and then adding watercolours.

Though perhaps not as intense or not as heavy as my other work, I found great pleasure in making these drawings, it was almost like I rediscovered this happy loving couple and it was good fun coming up with their little adventures and bringing them onto the paper.

Makes me wonder, perhaps I should introduce them to 'Lost Bear', who wanders alone on the furthest edges of the outer universe of Witty Art. Guess that would make a very interesting, if not confronting combination.

Now, does that sound as if there might be something like a little story coming up? Or a couple of stories, perhaps, a book even? ...

Who knows? Who wants to know? If you do, than feel free to follow me here on this blog or on my Instagram account!

Witty Art is definitely NOT about living in a solid playground

So, this time last year, I was in the middle of a very unsettling time for me, as I had to sell my house and embarked on a journey into the unknown, living the life of, as I started calling it, a 21st century city nomad. By that I mean not someone who's not really homeless as in living on the streets (which I am eternally glad for, because that is a hard, harsh life that I do NOT wish for anyone to happen at anytime), but still someone who does not have a place of her own to live in. Like, some kind of 'home hoppper' or 'pop up resident'. Or whatever fancy term you'd like to use for it.

By Summer 2015, I'd created tons of Witty Art, bascially driven by the fear of not being able to draw or create art for a long, long time to come. You see, losing my house not only meant losing my home, the roof over my head, but also my studio, the birthplace of so much Witty Art. So indeed I feared a long period of creative drought would set in.

Luckily for me, that hasn't happened, really. If anything, quite the opposite. Thanks to the support and care of people very close to me, who realised that, without my art, without being to able to create my art, I am just half the woman I am. Sounds a bit dramatic, I know, but it's true. To me, creating Witty Art is an urge. A matter of being alive and awake or being alive and virtually dead inside. So, I kept drawing, in my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo', but also started working on new series, rediscovering basic materials such as pencil and charcoal, and discovering other ways of expressing myself.

The result has been many new Series and Singles over the last 12 months or so. As well as a couple of great opportunities to showcase my work. So, instead of drought there was a wave of inspiration and of new creations appearing and re-appearing.

But, while archiving the digital images of all the stuff created last summer, shortly before having to leave my home, I realised that I just hadn't shared much of the art I created during the final days spent in that house. Because I kept drawing as long as I could, untill I had to even pack up all my art, sending them off into a safe storage untill I would be able to work in a proper studio again.

So, here are some of the drawings I was working on last year, around this very time. I have to admit, I was even a bit scared of having to look at them again as I feared they'd reveal too much of my personal feelings and emotions at that time. But, it turns out it's not all that bad. 

Let's just say that the world, my world, is still NO solid playground, but then again, it never really was. And ultimately, I am kind of okay with that. Because if indeed that had been the case, I doubt if there ever would have been such a thing as Witty Art.

On rebuilding my Life In Limbo on Rock Bottom and what J.K. Rowling's got to do with it

So, here are more sketches and drawings I made for my Witty Art Book ''My Life In Limbo'', my very own personal reflection of my journey through life since I effectively became homeless. Since losing the house that once had been a trusted home to me, I have been living the life of a 21s century city nomad, or, as I somewhat jokingly call it, the life of a Displaced Diva.

Originally started as a way of being able to keep on drawing and making little sketches and notes for later artwork, as losing my house also meant losing my workplace, this artbook has indeed become a way of sharing my story with the world, in particular with the friends and followers of Witty Art. Or rather: sharing the emotions behind the story, as my work, unavoidably and irreversibly, has been greatly impacted by the fact that my life had been thrown upside down.

As I've written in previous blogposts, the book became some kind of mirror, in which I saw my relationship with my art, with my own creations, reflected and that way I saw my life, my past and present relationships with the people in my life reflected; and the way I dealt with life's challenges - or the way I didn't or didn't dare to. I saw the characters from my artwork drop by, one by one, all those Perfectly Imperfect MisFits that inhabit the World of Witty Art. And each and every single of one of them telling me something about myself I didn't know - or I already knew but didn't want to know. Some loved, some feared, I hold all of them dear, as without them, my world would be empty and my artwork non-existent.

So, writing and drawing this artbook offered me a great deal of insight, not only in how my work will develop further, but also in the relationship between me and my artwork, and, equally important, the relationship between me and the world around me, the people in it - in my life. It helps me to come to terms with things that happened in the past; and to face up to the challenges now - and those yet to come.

For yes, I might be homeless at this very moment, I might be displaced, without a place of myself, I am still not living on the streets, as so many people unfortunately have to. I still have people who look after me, who support and love me. And I might have lost a lot, I feel like I have gained even more as my life has been enriched by the kindness, generosity and care from old and new friends, some which had been complete strangers before.

And, one thing I now know for sure, as corny as it may sound: whatever is taken away from me or will be taken away, I will always have my creativity. My ability to create art. To create my very own World of Witty, and that way, rebuild my life again. 

And when someone very special recently told me: ''You will rebuild your Witty Art Empire on rock bottom'', I had to think of what author J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame, for those of you that have been sleeping under a rock for the last decade or so ;-)) had to say about the ''benefits of failure'', when she addressed the Harvard Alumni Association back in 2008: 

 'So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.'

So, why should I not be able and capable to rebuild my life on my very own rock bottom, while creating my very own Witty Art Book? 

You can read and view J.K. Rowling's full Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association here. A truly inspirational read for anyone who currently finds him or herself on that place called Rock Bottom. 

I was. I am. So, on and forward I go. 

'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) 

When reading a Witty Art Book, have a coffee to go with it!

It's always nice seeing people admiring your artwork, or responding to it one way or the other. In this case, it's Rotterdam funky bakery Twinkle Cakes' founder and owner Riri Putranti having a browse through my artbook 'My Life In Limbo', my very own personal diary as I now live the life of a more or less homeless person. Or at least without a place of my own, for the time being. 

But, hey, at least there's always coffee to keep you from going totally insane! And while you're at it, get one of those delicious Twinkle Cakes to accompany your espresso or cappucino!

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...

More new additions to my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo'

My Witty Artbook 'My Life In Limbo' is taking me into directions I did not expect at all. When I first started it, I thought it'd be merely a daily, personal reflection on my temporary homeless existence. But it is really turning out much more like an indepth investigation on what Witty Art really is about, where it derives from, where certain characters come from, as I once again have to admit to myself that this feeling of displacement is not new to me. It, somehow, has always been within me, but because of the way my whole life has been turned upside down, the feeling has been intensified immensily.

 

This may sound like an uneasy process, but really, it's not. Although confronting at times, it's mostly exciting and and makes me look at my own work in unexptected, surprising new ways. And I can see a lot of old, trusted Witty Art characters appear and reappear, and even a couple of new ones emerging.

In a way, you could say it has become much more a reflection by Witty Art Characters on their ''creator'', as they leave a range of mildy ironic or even wildly sarcastic comments on ''her'' life and the choices and decisions she makes. Their comments vary from well-meant advice to slightly affectionate mockery, though they often end up bickering amongst each other. On who was created first, for instance. Or whether they were created at all.

I suppose it's a bit of a battle between 'The Artist' and her 'Artwork', a theme I was already  visualising in a series of quirky selfportraits (selfies) called 'ARTificial Uprising' and which has now clearly become a main theme of my artbook 'Life In Limbo'.

If it's indeed a battle of some kind, it's not exactly clear, who really has the upper hand. I guess, time will tell - as it will all be documented in this latest art project of mine, which has, rapidly and irreversibly, has become one of my dearest. Because, it is indeed my life that is indeed in huge limbo, Witty Art is NOT.

Because, however displaced and disconnected I might be, I will always keep on creating my art. Simply, because I have to.

It's an urge. It's a life force. And I am priviliged to share it with you all. 

(And oh, while you at it, do feel free to read the first blog I wrote about 'My Life In Limbo' here)