Klara

Finally did some V Für Victory stuff again. We have been working on the story, but I hadn't made any artwork in so long. So I coloured this sketch of our main character.

*dramatic zoom*

Character designs

I've been inactive here for so long I almost forgot I even had this blog. How sad :(
For more frequent updates: I hang out mostly on Instagram nowadays.
If you want to follow me there, I'm @roobi2sday.

Least I can do is share some current work now that I'm here. I'm creating a comic for a client at the moment. Here's the three main characters I designed for their short stories.

Mindshakes comics: reposted and translated!

The comics I made for Mindshakes were recently translated to English, and since their website went offline this month, I decided to publish them on my Behance page.

Quick recap: Last year I was asked by Stijn Schenk to illustrate his very personal story about how he deals with having a relationship with somebody who was sexually abused in her youth and how it has affected their relationship.
Later that year I made another comic, this time from her point of view, on how she coped with her fears and her feelings of shame and finally seeking therapy to overcome it.

You can read the comics here and here (NSFW).

 

 

Siouxsie and the Banshees

I'm making a series of drawings of some of my favourite bands. Lots of post-punk/new wave-y goodness! Among others. of course ;) I hope to make a nice set of postcards or LP-format posters out of them.

Here's the first: Siouxsie and the Banshees! :D

Comic for mindshakes.com

A few weeks ago I got the assignment to illustrate this personal and intimate scenario by Stijn Schenk for the Mindshakes website (Dutch only).
It's about being the partner of someone who was sexually abused in the past and how they both work on rediscovering their intimacy. You can read it here (NSFW)

 

 

Midna

Part of a 30 day game related doodle challenge I'm doing with some friends. It's great fun so far and I'm only on the second day!
02. Your favourite character.
I picked Midna, because she's cool and lots of fun to draw too.

I bet these would make really cute postcards ;)

Family matters

October 18th marked the opening of the art exhibition I mentioned in September. My works are displayed alongside a collection of drawings and paintings by my great-greatfather, G. H. van der Meulen in De Schierstins in the small village of Veenwouden. It's very local, but the exhibition room is just lovely and I got some nice feedback as well. I even got word from people who have some of my great-grandfather's work at home. On November 28th people can take those paintings along and talk to some of the family members. I'm looking forward to see what they'll bring along. The exhibithion ends mid-December.

Things haven't been going so well art-wise the past few weeks. I suffered a cold a while back and last week I strained my back while lifting a heavy suitcase and my lower back still hurts pretty bad. It's really frustrating because I had a lot of things planned, like a new series of short autobiographical comics and more work inspired by Flip's poetry. I hope to start up the art engine again this week.

Front Lines project

During the summer I worked on a comic for a project by Comixiade. They ask artist all over Europe to draw a comic or illustration to a poem about, or written during World War I. The poems are in different languages, but all will be translated to English on the website. I picked the poem 'Draagt me zacht' by flemish soldier and poet August van Cauwelaert.

For this project I worked less precise and at a faster pace than usual and also decided to work with charcoal again after a long time. I enjoyed it :)

It's published on their website, along with the work of the other artists, which I recommend you check out. More work will be added over time and I'm looking forward to see what the other artists will come up with. They also had a short but sweet interview with me about the comic I made and why I chose this particular poem.

Totes awes

Hi guys! I'm back from a little summer break with some new announcements :)
First of all: I made a new cut out shape to paint on a couple of totebags based on a drawing I made last year. The lines are all handpainted, so it does take some time, but the result is lovely. I've only made one so far, but there will be more.

They will be for sale at the LelystArt festival in Lelystad, Netherlands on the 14th. Among other things, of course! There are a few booklets left, along with the usual postcards and whatnot and I might have some lino cuts if I finish them in time. I'm also looking into selling some stuff online in the near future.

Other news: Due to circumstances there will be a small exhibition here in Veenwouden from October 18th to somewhere in December, showing paintings of my great-grandfather, George van der Meulen and also some of my work. I was lucky to be asked, since I do voluntary work there and we had mentioned an eventual exhibition of his work before. I'm making the preparations this month.

(one of my great-grandfather's paintings and a page from his sketchbook)

Comic festivals recap

First up was the first comic festival of the nothern provices in Drachten. I shared a table with Flip and his brother Joeri, who was making awesome lino prints. It was fun to be there and I hope to be there again next year. We were even interviewed by a local newspaper.

The book fair in my hometown was cosy as expected, but unfortunately all hell broke loose that afternoon when a rainstorm appeared, which turned out worse than anyone expected. Some of my work suffered water damage and couldn't be used for sale anymore, but I could save most of it thanks to Flip's lovely parents and the fellow exhibitors.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition 'De Nieuwe Garde' was a great experience. Flip's aunts were so nice to offer us a place to stay for the weekend and they filmed and took photo's of the event. This is the first publication of the comic 'Canada' I've been going on about lately. Flip was even asked to read the poem to the audience :)

Even the national newspaper 'Trouw' published about it and showed one of my artworks. I was so happy when I noticed :)

The festival itself was a great succes. Lovely people and a great location in the center of Haarlem. Definately going again next time! With new smallpress books, totebags and hopefully a closer look into 'V für Victory'.

The exhibition's until June 22nd, so if you're in Haarlem anytime soon don't forget to visit Galerie 37PK to view the work of me and fellow comic artists/illustrators. It's worth a watch.

Come what May

Last week I finally finished painting the comic 'Canada', the first collaboration between my boyfriend and me. It will be revealed on the opening of the exhibition 'De Nieuwe Garde' on May 29th in Haarlem (and, of course, posted here afterwards ;)). It will be a busy month with several comic festivals throughout the country and I'm very excited to be there, display my artwork, meet up with old classmates and meet new creative people.

Here's a list of places I will be to sell my work:

Noordelijke Stripmanifestatie Drachten 17/18 May

Theun de Vries Boekenmarkt Veenwouden 24 May

Stripdagen Haarlem 31 May/1 June

Exhibition 'De Nieuwe Garde' at 37PK in Haarlem 29 May - 22 June

In the meantime I've also been working to get some stuff printed, like a few smallpress books and postcards. There will also be handpainted postcards and stickers for sale. I hope to be able to take pictures of the events and write about the experiences here. I can't wait! :)

Preview: Canada

I apologize for my short hiatus, but I'm working very hard to get ready for the upcoming comic fairs in May this year. There's still a lot work to be done. One of which is a five page handpainted comic based on a poem my boyfriend wrote. I don't want to give away more than this first panel, because it planned to be revealed at an exhibition at the comic festival in Haarlem. I'm very exited :) Also I need to get some stuff printed and sorted out, so I'm afraid I won't have new updates for a while, except for maybe a few more previews for the upcoming events.

Inbetweens

Some environment sketches from my sketchbook. I drew these mostly on the road in the train or bus to keep me occupied. Meanwhile I'm working on a 5 page painted comic based on a poem by Flip. There's also some swingin 'sketches coming your way next week. I'll keep you posted.

Irresistable

I'm absolutely no Valentine's Day fan, but since last year was pretty romantic I decided to make an exception just this once ;)

Sigh...

How about "no"

't Pankoukschip

Usually I make both a Dutch and an English version of my comics of which the latter will be posted on this blog. Sadly, this time it's one of those stories that can't be translated, because it just wouldn't make much sense if I did. In short, my friend and I were dining at a pancake place (yes, pancakes are dinner where I come from :p) and she joked about how the waitress must've doubted our sexual orientation by the way she talked to us.

Xxx-mas

Quicky on the last day of Christmas. No pun intended...

Day 1

It's been a while since I posted, or even made a comic, so here is one! Over the past few months I've been thinking about turning some everyday adventures into comics, but I never got around actually doing it. Now I won't be making a daily series (this happened in May...), but I see them more as little things to do in between other projects and whatnot. And it's a nice way to stay active as an artist. Stylewise these may vary, depending on what materials I feel like using, but this works pretty fast.

NFF: the illustrations

Last week my boyfriend Flip and I were at the Noordelijk Film Festival for five days to watch and review some of the films. He would write about how we experienced them and I'd make an illustration depicting one or more of the films. You can read and watch them here:

La Grande Bellezza

Shed No Tears / Good Vibrations / In The Fog

Nordic Shorts

My illustration for Nordic Shorts and La Grande Bellezza

Sadly, only three of them were published for reasons unknown and we both have mixed feelings about the whole experience. The movies we watched were awesome and it was a great privilege to be able to see every film we wanted, but the extremely noisy audience ruined a lot of the fun for us. Especially the last screening was an absolute nightmare. I can't believe how many people just can't keep their mouth shut during a movie and even scold us when we ask them to stay quiet.
My faith in humanity has taken another blow...

To end on a positive note: on the last day we were photographed during our daily activities at the festival. Lots of walking back and forth, short breaks and junk food. The organization and volunteers get a thumbs up from us both and, despite a few downfalls, we also had a good time together.

 

Photos by Afke Manshanden

Experiment #2

Since my first attempt at making my own skirt was an absolute disaster I hesitated to try again, but I still had some lovely fabric lying around. This time I made it a little more easy using a stretchable waistband. After almost failing again I managed to patch things up pretty well and this is the result.

(I might come back with some better quality photo's, though...)