Pay to Play

Sometimes fellow artists ask me; 'I got invited to join in an art exhibition but the gallery wants me to pay a fee upfront. Is that common?' Usually, it is not. Recently I too got an invite from such a gallery. The general and exchangeable tone of voice of the request and the long list of exhibiting artists of variable quality and style made some warning bells go off in my head. He're some wise words from the Art Business website about the subject;
- Link: http://www.artbusiness.com/osoqutscawas.html
- Link #2, with list of questionable galleries: http://www.artbusiness.com/artist-pay-to-play-list.html 

(Thanks, Kirsten!)

Grafill/Visueltdagene Oslo

Ohoi! Hvordan går det? This Thursday and Friday, May 30 & 31, the annual 'Visueltdagene' take place in Oslo, Norway. It's an event with seminars, talks and exhibitions meant to inspire and bring creatives together and I was invited to give a lecture about my work. It will be my first visit to Norway and Visuelt and I'm much looking forward to it. Ser deg senere!

Above: ...And in the meanwhile I'm working on the last bits for my upcoming show at Merry Karnowsky Gallery, opening next month. See the MK website for more info.

Wonderful Weird

Today I scored some real beaut's for my postcard collection! A few examples;

Above: 'Lucky' horse shoe & 'Love dream' star mademoiselles, France, around 1905

Kitty with green foil eyes, teddy bear with plastic doll eyes, Amsterdam(?), around 1920

Happy new year in the sky with roses, France, 1910

The (love) language of umbrella's, France, 1916

If I'm correct the text can be translated into something like 'You have a knack or falling on your face', France, around 1910

'...Miauwgghh...!', Swiss, date unknown

Felix de Forêt Giclée Print Details

‘Felix de Forêt’, the forest guardian, is now available as a fine art reproduction.

Size: 7.8 x 9.8 inch, 20 x 25 cm, print run 100 pieces. Available at the Femtasia Shop. The background of this fine art giclee print is white. The print's title is centered underneath the image, printed in light grey.

 

(These images are posted to give an idea of the detail of the giclée prints available on my website).

OMG Giclée Print Details

‘OMG’ is now available as a fine art reproduction. This piece about the unexpected intrusion of a pick-nick was inspired by Japanese ghost stories and features a posse of one of my favorite animals.

Size: 10.6 x 14.2 inch, 27 x 36 cm, print run: 100 pieces. Available at the Femtasia Shop.

The background of this fine art giclee print is white. The print's title is centered underneath the image, printed in light grey.

 
(These images are posted to give an idea of the detail of the giclée prints available on my website).

Winter Update

One can never be sure about the weather in The Netherlands but these past years King Winter is really making an effort. We had almost two weeks of cold over here. And even though Amsterdam looks very picturesque under a wintery blanket, it's more than enough Siberia for me.
It was extra nice to stay inside and enjoy work. Like finishing the last bits for the Timid Cabbage book, for example. Next to the regular edition there will be a very exclusive, signed and slip-cased print run. I can't wait to show you the final result!

In the meanwhile I'm also working on new paintings and drawings. Those will be shareable on a later moment, but I can reveal that I'm working on a more than normal sized drawing. ...I even have to stand up(!) to reach the upper part of the artwork -see photo above. Below some more snapshots of me, on my studio day, amongst all my drawing necessities.

1- One of my favorite erasers. This is a combination eraser, for both graphite and ink. I find this solid yet soft eraser ideal to cut in smaller chunks for detailed erasing. 2- Large brush to swoosh away eraser dust. 3- Pencil grindings table waste bin. 4- Pencil sharpener. 5- Documentation, book. 6- Mirror, to check if I don't draw too skewed. 7- Scotch tape, easy remove and permanent.

8- Enlarged sketch, blurry but useable. Essential for checking the proportions of all the different elements. 9- Documentation, image print outs. 10- My signature toothpicks. 11- Eraser shield**. A kind of an old fashion tool from the golden days of technical and ruling pens. A great erasing device for details! 12- Various pencils, ranging from HB's to 8B's. 13- My signature chewing gum.

*Thanks for the photo's, Leendert! 
** For those of you who are interested in buying an eraser shield; Dutchies can still order such a 'gum- of radeerplaatje' at Van der Linde, Rozengracht, Amsterdam, and non Dutchies can score one online at -for example- Dick Blick or Artifolk.

Opening Night & Big Thanks

Last week, after 4 movies in a row, little sleep, a bit of reading and some gazing at the rough black and white patchwork of Canada underneath, I left the plane to set foot on ground in Seattle once more. It was good to be back, even though my visit was brief. The weather showed mostly it's gloomy side with grey skies and a cold drizzle but that didn't stop me from hiking down to my favorite shops like Red Light clothing, Schmancy and the art suppliers Dick Blick and Utrecht.

But the main reason to be there was the opening night of my sixth (shared) solo exhibition at Roq la Rue gallery, of course! It was much fun. Besides meeting new people I enjoyed seeing colleagues and art collectors. I'd like to give a big thanks to all who showed interest -both in person and through other channels-, to John and Jenny, to Ryan for being a great art ally and to Roq's captain Kirsten Anderson for doing yet another fab job. Cheers, all!

Images of all the works can be found here, and see more pictures of the opening here.