Witty Art one of the first artists selected for Telly Tadka's brandnew Art Factory

Now, I am quite proud to have been selected as one of the first of a group of three artists to be showcased on Telly Tadka's brandnew Art Factory. Telly Tadka originally is an online based Indian Television News Channel, happily describing itelf to be 'Your Camera to the TV World!'.

Recently, Telly Tadka has started branching out beyond the world of television and film, and into the world of the arts, by setting up ''THE ART FACTORY''. Their goal is to provide a platform for (young) budding artists out there, or, as they put it themselves: ''For those who wants to figure out one’s passion and find one’s purpose in life.''

Curious on which Witty Art work was selected for this showcase? Well, I can reveal this is one of them: ''Just Another Untried River''', from The Singles. 

 As for the rest, you have to find out yourself by clicking here. 

So, could this be the start of Witty Art conquering the (international art) world? Well, that would be a nice thought, now wouldn't it? 

If you feel your work deserves a spot in the Telly Tadka spotlight, they are currently actively looking for artists and are in no way limited by the visual arts only:

''Are you a writer? Perhaps a closeted jibber-jabberer, with a mind full of ideas? Are you a photographer? A film-maker? An actor? A host? A singer? A dancer? A musician? An artist? Anything artistry, to whom, the world wouldn’t give you an opportunity to brandish the wonderful talents you have to offer? We at Telly Tadka are at your service and would love to introduce the world to the wonderful you.So why not take that step towards that new venture and let Telly Tadka guide you to our destination.''

So, if you are interested, just email them or leave a message on the official Telly Tadka Facebook page.

New series: 'Pin Bear Wizard' is not a very happy lil' fella ...

Here's a series I worked on last summer, small-sized drawings about a not-so-happy lil' fella and his ever-present (scape)goatshaped shadow, of which I myself am not entirely sure whether he (or she, for that matter) brings good or evil to PinBear's life. All that there is to say for now: poor little PinBear often seems to be in a lot of pain but whether that's pain being inflicted upon him by others or by himself .. that, remains the question.

At this point, I haven't got a clue in which direction this series, and thus PinBear's future and that of his shadow, will head. As usually is the case with all my art work made in series, 'their story' will unfold (or perhaps not at all) as the pencil finds its way on an empty piece of paper.

In this blogpost, you can see a selection of four of the current series, now comprising 11 drawings, all of which I will put online on the Witty Art Originals - Series page.

Another nice thing to share with you all, is that there actually exists footage of ''the making of' PinBear'', as illustrated by the picture below.

This picture and many more were taken by photographer Tienke Huisman/Beeldvlinder for her photoseries called ''Making Art'' about artists at work. You can see more pictures of PinBear being ''born'' here.

* disclaimer * ;-) 
And oh, one more thing though .. for those of you who may not understand: I am in NO way a promotor of inflicting any form of physical pain upon any other living being in real life, and that does include soft toys as well (okay, with the exception of Barbies, as I hate them with a vengeance). Guess what I tried to depict is an already scarred creature's neverending inner pain. 

Again, feel free to leave your feedback, either below or via email. 

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! 

'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.

'In mij worstelen het optimisme en de melancholie met elkaar'

 

Al eerder aangekondigd, maar sinds vorige week is-ie dan verkrijgbaar: het gloednieuwe, en vernieuwde Pandora Magazine met daarin het interview dat eindredacteur Ruud Vermeer een tijdje terug met mij had. Een verslag van een fijn en onderhoudend gesprek over mijn werk, de motivaties en de drijfveren er achter. En natuurlijk over kunstenaars- en ondernemerschap. Over ''de schijnbare lichtvoetigheid'' in mijn werk en het ''onvermogen van de mens tot communiceren''. En: over ''het raadsel dat de mens eigenlijk is.''.

Een mooie publicatie, geïllustreerd door een aantal werken van mijn hand, waaronder het hierboven getoonde ''Perfect By All Means'' (tekening, inkt op papier, 2013).

Tezijnertijd verschijnt een transcript plus downloadbare PDF van het interview op dit blog. Tot die tijd kan je het nieuwe Pandora Magazine bestellen via email. 

Naar aanleiding van dit artikel nieuwsgierig geworden naar Witty Art? Neem dan gerust contact met mij op via email, Facebook of Twitter.

 

Wat is de drive achter Witty Art? Lees er NU over in het nieuwe Pandora Magazine!

Vanaf volgende week is-ie verkrijgbaar: de nieuwe, om niet te zeggen: vernieuwde editie van Pandora Magazine, inclusief het interview dat eindredacteur Ruud Vermeer onlangs met mij had.

Wil je deze editie van Pandora Magazine in je bezit krijgen? Mail naar Pandora.uitgeverij@gmail.com voor hoe je 'm kunt bestellen!

Eerste echte Witty Kinderkunst Workshop meer dan geslaagd!

Zaterdag jl. vond de eerste Witty Kinderkunst Workshop plaats. Of nou ja, eigenlijk de tweede, na een eerste pilot vorig jaar in Sint Maria's Gallery, als onderdeel van de samenwerking met Museum Rotterdam t.b.v. het project ''Echt West''.

Die pilot smaakte naar meer en de afgelopen periode heb ik (onder andere) besteed aan het bedenken en uitwerken van een reeks workshops voor kinderen van verschillende leeftijden. Al naar gelang de gelegenheid (verjaardagspartijtje of als onderdeel van een schoolles) en de leeftijd en samenstelling van de kinderen variëren de workshops in opzet, omvang en duur, maar één ding hebben ze allemaal gemeen: de eigen fantasie en creativiteit van de kinderen staat zoveel mogelijk centraal.

Zo ook tijdens de mini-workshop van zaterdag jl., voor een groepje kinderen in de leeftijd 5-6 jaar. De 'opdracht': een heus mini-schilderij maken over iets wat ze kort geleden (vandaag of gisteren of deze week) gezien of beleefd hadden; of wat op een andere manier indruk had gemaakt. En dat op ''echt'' schildersdoek, in de vorm van kleine canvaspaneeltjes.

Het mooie van kleuters is, is dat ze zich over het algemeen niet of nauwelijks laten weerhouden door ''ken ik niet'' of ''kan ik niet''. Zonder schroom gingen ze dan ook aan de slag, en in een tijdsbestek van ongeveer 45 minuten ontstonden er beelden van sneeuwpoppen (de film ''Frozen'' bleek een grote inspirator), een woeste leeuw, een droomhuis en een droomtuin (mèt paard EN een koe). Wat mij van de middag het meest bij is gebleven, was het meisje dat vastbesloten was een grijs vlak in zoveel mogelijk verschillende schakeringen te maken: ''Grijs was OOK een kleur''. Niets op af te dingen.

Voor kinderen uit deze leeftijd en binnen zo'n korte tijd moet je natuurlijk niet streven naar het willen overbrengen van, ik noem maar een dwarsstraat, de complete kleurenleer. Dat hoeft ook niet en is dus ook niet het doel van deze workshop (en zeker niet de mini-variant).Wat ik wel doe, is stimuleren van de eigen creativiteit, zonder als een dwingende sturende kracht overaanwezig te zijn. Door mee te kijken, door te laten zien dat je verf dik of dun kunt gebruiken, door te laten zien dat dunne kwastjes dunne lijntjes maken; en dat je met dikke kwasten lekker grote vlakken kunt maken. Dat toevoeging van wit een kleur lichter, maar ook fletser maakt. Het leuke is, dat ze dat vanzelf gaan uitproberen.

Iets leren gaat immers zoveel makkelijker als je er ook plezier in hebt!

Binnenkort komt alle informatie over Witty Kinderkunst Workshops online: aanbod, mogelijkheden, prijzen. En: er komen ook Witty Art Workshops voor volwassenen!

Heb je echter al interesse, aarzel dan niet en informeer via mail naar de mogelijkheden!