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).

 

 

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.

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! :)