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I spend hours and hours in my studio. It’s a place of concentration and inspiration and hard work and late nights. Because my studio is in my home, the work just never seems to end! But I couldn't imagine another way of life. I'm working on a new drawing in my big sketchbook. I was inspired by many things. First of all by old Swiss 'scherenschnitte' that I found, browsing in my mother's old folk art books. But also by ancient Arabic and Ottoman botanical manuscripts. And finally by a black and white embroidery I made many many years ago when I was an embroidery teacher.
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I'm working on a book, inspired by the journals of my maternal grandfather. The biggest part of his diaries is about World War I, but there are also stories and anekdotes of when he was a child, getting into mischief with his friends. He grew up in a very small village in West-Flanders where his father was a forester for a castle's lord. At the age of 16, he emigrated to the USA with his parents, brother and little sister. It's been a revelation to read these two diaries and to find out how his life was. I've already made a page about his life during WWI and I hope that other pages will follow!
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Our family is the lucky owner of two of my grandfather's journals. He wrote these diaries aged 70. He's telling about his childhood in a small village in Flanders. He describes himself as a little rascal who, from time to time, got into mischief with his friends. He writes about his elementary school years and his time in high school. Then about his decision to become a teacher, but how these studies were interrupted by the whole family going to America to find prosperity. How they came back, probably because they missed their homeland. How the First World War began just after they came back and he had to become a soldier, more specifically a stretcher-bearer, in and near the trenches of Flander's fields. How he continued his studies in the trenches in very poor conditions by candlelight and among the rats. After the war, he met his future wife. He became head teacher, married and got 4 children. My mother was the third in a row. These two journals are a real treasure and they inspire me to maybe make a illustrated book with some of the texts. I started in my sketchbook with some ideas and I'll see what will come out!
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I love collections! I mean, I like to draw them. My father collected stamps although he was not a real philatelist. He could as well have collected posters, old soap boxes or match boxes but stamps took up less space. He only collected aesthetically pleasing stamps in terms of illustration, used font and color. Thinking of this collection, I started drawing my own. The aim is to make a new print for my Etsy shop. I finally used two of my new Microns that I bougt in America last year. I wanted to limit myself to two colors, orange and purple, colors that I usually don't use. In the end, I added a little gray watercolor to finish it. What do you think?
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When you've just finished working on a big commission and your mind is empty, you draw the daily stuff around you. For me these are the tools on my desk. I don't need sophisticated materials, just my fineliners and sketchbook.
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I'm halfway through this sketchbook page and below you can see a slide show most of the drawings. I'm learning Spanish and this is a good way for me to remember words. I still have to fill the other side of the page. My intention is to use all these small drawings in a new piece and to make a print of it.
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I love folk art. About three weeks ago I was in New Mexico and I visited the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. Textiles from India, figurative wood carving from Poland, U.S. visionary and self-taught art, Japanese woodblock prints, Indonesian shadow puppets and many other objects: more than 130,000 from more than 100 countries. A really fascinating museum! A collection of ex votos immediately caught my attention. Were they made of metal or silver? Were they factory-made or hand-crafted? I don't know but I could see they were embossed. I've seen collections like this before in other countries. I love all the different shapes of hands and thought it was a good idea to draw a collection of them. I first drew them with my favorite fineliners and then painted them in with a wash of watercolor paint.
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It’s cold, too cold for my body but I drag myself through winter as good as it gets. I really do make an effort to concentrate on nice and cozy moments like watching a good film, sitting by the fireplace, enjoying my favorite music, making crossword puzzles, read a good book, playing board games with the children and lighting a lot of candles in the evening. I made this drawing at the very start of winter, already longing for spring and summer. It also helps :)
Black fineliner on paper
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Sedert begin dit jaar heb ik al heel wat patronen getekend, zoals je kan op de foto hieronder. Ik hou ervan om ze volledig met de hand te tekenen, met alle onregelmatigheden die daarbij horen. Ik ben nu op zoek naar een eenvoudige manier om van een ingescande tekening een repetitief dessin te maken dat gebruikt kan worden voor bedrukking op beddegoed, kussens, notaboekjes en dergelijke. Kan iemand mij helpen aan info hierover? Alle advies is meer dan welkom!
Since the beginning of this year, I've made a lot of patterns, as you can see in the picture below. I love it when they are fully made by hand, with all the irregularities associated with them. I'm looking for an easy way to make a repetitive pattern out of a scanned drawing so it can be used for printing on bedding sets, pillows, notebooks etcetera. Can anyone help me with information about this? Any advice is more than welcome!
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De laatste weken heb ik veel patronen getekend. Hierboven zie je een nieuwe. Niets beter om je geest leeg te maken! Je begint ergens op het blad met een stip, een cirkel, een bloem, enkele blaadjes en je gaat verder naar links, naar rechts, omhoog en omlaag. Ik hou erg veel van het grafische effect van zwartwit en alles wat ik nodig heb is een schetsboek en ekele stiftjes.
For the last few weeks I drew a lot of patterns. Here's another one. Nothing better to free your mind! You just start somewhere on the page with anything: a small dot, a circle, a flower, some leaves and you continue to the left, to the right, up and down. I have always loved the graphic effect of black and white and all I need is a sketchbook and some fineliners.
For the last few weeks I drew a lot of patterns. Here's another one. Nothing better to free your mind! You just start somewhere on the page with anything: a small dot, a circle, a flower, some leaves and you continue to the left, to the right, up and down. I have always loved the graphic effect of black and white and all I need is a sketchbook and some fineliners.
Om deze patronen te tekenen gebruikte ik volgende eenvoudige tools / To make this pattern, I used these simple tools:
- Staedtler pigment liner 0,2
- Staedtler pigment liner 0,1
- Staedtler pigment liner 0,05
- Automatic pencil 0,35 (HB)
- Tombow Mono Zero Precision Eraser - ultra fine (2,3 mm)
- Bigger eraser
- Sketchbook
