More sailor’s delight

I don’t know where the sailors keep coming from, but here they are… I’m a big fan of Stephan Vanfleteren. When I see his pictures, I always end up drawing them. (I’m not sure if that’s allowed, but you could call it fan art, right?) There’s something imperfect, yet captivating about the faces he catches on film. Here’s my take on his sailor. I made a quick sketch in my sketchbook and then he ended up on my computer one evening. He turned out different than the version of my favourite photographer, yet I still quite like him. Oh captain, my captain!

 

 

Fan art

I’ve been having fun with creating some fan art lately.

Sadie Sink as Max in “Stranger things”

Catherine Elizabeth Coulson as the Log Lady in “Twin peaks”

fishy fish

 

I did some work on one of my latest sketches. I took my quick sketch (pen & ecoline on aquarel paper) and combined it with a picture of the plants on my desk and some paint residue my children got their hands dirty on. I’m quite satisfied with the result.

It made me think of one of my favourite poems, ‘Pike’, by Ted Hughes (only obviously these are no pikes but kois…). Or maybe it’s because I was thinking of the poem, that I drew it this way… who knows…

But silently cast and fished
With the hair frozen on my head
For what might move, for what eye might move.
The still splashes on the dark pond,
…
That rose slowly toward me, watching.

From Ted Hughes – Pike

 

spotted – Paris

I’m going on a school trip to Paris next week. Time for some Paris inspired maps and drawings from illustrators I like.

Josie Portillo

Oliver Jeffers

 

Amaia Arrazola

 

If you really want to submerge yourself in the Parisian atmosphere and dream of warmer spring days to come, then I can advise Jacques Dutronc’s ‘Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille’, my personal favourite (when it comes to songs about Paris, that is).

money money money

Een Ontgoocheling

Latest assignment: create an illustration for one of Peter Holvoet-Hanssen’s poems (stadsgedichten). I chose Peter Holvoet-Hanssen’s Ontgoocheling 2, which was based on Elsschot’s Ontgoocheling. Here’s my illustration accompanied by the original text.

Ontgoocheling 2

Keizer, laatste kaartspeler is dood.
Inslag. Uw sigaar ligt in de goot.

Zo, dichter, melk de fles – ja, handig, vol herkenbaarheid.
Wat een metier! Applaus! Een zebra: een pyjamapaard.
Een dichtbundel: een olifantje, klein en afgericht.
Waarom begin je geen frituur in Budapest – en bak
gedichten als goulashkroketten of zigeunersticks.
Maar Kareltje toch. Vrijbrief kwijt? Mijnheer Albert dicteert
zijn poëzie op tijd: een tram rijdt door mijn linkeroor –

Een brug? O, tunnels? ‘t Is een snelweg die de stad verstikt.
En alles wordt zo netjes, dwaallicht zonder pannendak.
Dok van het groot verdriet. Pijn kent geen rust − loop jij maar leeg
mijn jongen, loop. Naar zee: een berg zwaar water. Naar de sloop.
Oom Willem heeft de blues, gedichtenroes wordt soep in blik.
Een handkar komt thuis. Zie die zeeman zonder Zeemanshuis.

(c) Stadsgedicht Antwerpen, 7 juni 2010
Het derde Stadsgedicht van Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, geïnspireerd door ‘Een ontgoocheling’ van Willem Elsschot.

 

official opening of the tennis season

time for some…tennis!

Inspired by the mulheres barbadas, I made my own full print.
Maybe it isn’t full enough yet, and I’m not totally satisfied with the lining as well. Maybe I’ll work on it some more. Or make another one.
It was very fun to do, because you can let your imagination run wild, as there is always space for more.

forfanterie

We had to illustrate a very old word (from a dictionary from the interbellum).
I chose ‘forfanterie’ which means (or better meant) ‘grootspraak’, (being pompous or extravagant in language).

1 september nightmare

Robert Goodin’s blog on artists re-interpreting comic covers, inspired me to do my own interpretation of Alpha Flight #7. I found the cover on cover browser, a great place filled with dusty, old comic book covers.

As far as my interpretation goes…..“Keep your children in, the teacher’s coming!” Haha, actually I’m not sure where this came from, I just thought Alpha Flight’s heroine looked so “teachery”. Don’t you?