We had a hectic summer. Instead of our usual summer travel, we stayed home in favor of beach trips and lots of DIY. But there have been good moments. Good moments with little boys’ sandy legs and tousled hair, and good food, and friends you’ve know for but not seen in forever.

And then there was a lovely impromptu meetup with my sketch crew. My friend Ellen Vesters (talented artist and serial entrepreneur who set up her own art academy, Venster, like HELLO) had heard rumblings of Nishant Jain of the amazing SneakyArt podcast being in town and organized an Urban Sketchers meetup.

As small group of us met up in the shade of the Dom church in Utrecht, and we talked and sketched and talked, and attracted strangers from all over the globe along the way. Fellow artists out for a stroll, eager to join the conversation about art and life. Bits of our conversation have ended up in the podcasts (here).

Achter de Dom, Utrecht

Part of our group having lunch at De Rechtbank, Utrecht

Results and feet!

Some of us then went to have lunch, just around the corner, where I did another quick sketch. We all* left that day feeling exhilarated by the sense of adventure and possibility.

*All being: Nishant, Ellen, Vera, Jason, and Emma

Dude on the terrace of De Rechtbank

One of my favorite places on earth is actually pretty close to home: de Bussumerheide. Or the Bussum Heath. I can’t really explain why, but the place feels quiet and peaceful to me, in a similar manner to the way the world feels after fresh snow has covered streets and houses. Like time is standing still. The Bussumerheide actually has a very long history, with evidence of people living there, conducting (burial) rituals there, and grazing their cattle. I like to think it’s been a special place to many people throughout history, but I don’t really know. It’s special to us. No matter what the circumstances or weather, every day we’ve spent there has been special. On one of these special days in September, I took my sketchbook with me, and drew a bit. Quick sketches that I then finished at home.

Materials:

• Sketchbooks: small square Seawhite of Brighton travel sketchbook, large A4 Pith sketchbook.

• Pens & Pencils: Molotow acrylic pens, Caran d'Ache Luminance coloured pencils

Music: Spanish Moss by Chris Haugen

It’s been a busy couple of weeks with our move happening, um, well, tomorrow. 💀 Nevertheless, we found the time to hit up the ice cream shop this weekend.

It’s funny, these sorts of drawings are so much fun for me to make, but I know they don’t do very well on ‘the socials’. Everything that’s not a gag comic about parenting, just doesn’t seem to attract the same amount of views, comments, likes. And while I never have set myself a goal of growing my following on social media, I have noticed that my posting on various channels is lacking all spontaneity and directness. And since I don’t want to have to specifically sit down and brainstorm posts that’ll do well on the ‘gram while not posting what I am actually working on, I decided that would need to change.

Meaning: this blog will become more like a blog again. My socials will just have whatever I feel like. It might become more messy, and no one might read it, but i’ll be more fun. And if there’s anything I (and I would say all of us) need, it’s fun!

Over the Easter weekend, I had booked a little family trip to Friesland (province in the north of The Netherlands) for Jochem’s birthday. I got us a b&b in Woudsend, the village where Jochem spent many a summer attending and subsequently teaching at sailing summer camp. I’d also rented us a boat, with the hopes of the weather being nice enough for us to go out on the water. With the boys now being old enough (3 and 5), it was maybe time to bring Jochem’s long held dream to teach me and the boys to sail to fruition. To be honest, I was a bit nervous as the last time Jochem tried to teach me (this was pre-children), I cried at least three times. The wind, rain, and water were completely disorienting to me and I did not understand any of the instructions Jochem was ‘sharing’ with me. This time, however, we got lucky! The weather was absolutely perfect and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

A special sketchbook this time, as this sketchbook was different in size and paper from the previous ones and somehow this made me feel more free and excited to try new things. I did lots of nature/city drawings, drew lots of people from instagram / observation, and outfits. A little less of the 'day to day', as I guess with every day looking more or less the same (aside from the trips), this was a bit less interesting for me to draw.

Hope you enjoy and also interested to see how the lockdowns/covid life have influenced your sketchbooks!

Materials: Sakura A4 sketchbook, pencil, watercolor (Winsor & Newton), ink, and colored pencil (Caran d'Ache)

Music: 'Pink Sunrise' - The Great North Sound Society

As some of you may know, there was a time when our son Jacob battled a rare blood disease called autoimmune neutropenia. The two years during which he was ill were without a doubt the hardest of our lives. When he got better, all we wanted to do was forget all about it.

Luckily for me, the pandemic served as a helpful trigger for old traumatic memories to resurface. The flashbacks and panic left over from the years led me to try Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Through questioning my own beliefs and anxieties while looking the waving fingers of my therapist, I found my way back.

I created a comic about my experiences for Drawing the Times, a graphic journalism platform. I’m incredibly proud of this piece, and the responses have been overwhelming. I dug deep for this story, and if it helps only one person to feel less alone, I’ve succeeded.

Two, or actually THREE, sketchbook tours for you today, spanning from June to December of last year.

I’ve been feeling kind of blocked lately doing my illustrated journal pages, as it feels like nothing is happening. We’re in lockdown, have been for ages. We don’t see many people or do very many things that seem worth drawing. Yet, at the same time I feel so aware that we’re going through an immensely unique time in history and I might want to record these days for future record. The pressure!

Either way, these sketchbooks were kind of fun, as they include another quick trip this summer with my mom and stepdad, my sons’ birthdays, and my eldest first days at school (before we went into lockdown again). Also, a few abstract paintings and exercises creeping into the last sketchbook, which I kind of love.

Have a lovely week, all. Hang in there!

For as long as I can remember I’ve drawn and painted. In high school, my art teacher even suggested I go to art school for painting, but I decided I needed to show the world I was ‘smart’ rather than just talented and studied art history instead. But I never stopped painting and illustrating. The illustration part, I’m sure you’ve seen (since you’re on this blog and all), but (abstract) painting was something I did privately. For friends, family, myself.

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Over the years, I’ve had burst of inspiration - mostly when I’d get a commission. Most of my friends and family have since gotten ‘their’ painting, and when we moved into our new Utrecht home, I decided to paint one for our house as well.

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And with Covid/lockdowns/nowhere to go, lately, I’ve been turning towards abstract painting even more.

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All this to say - I’ve started a separate instagram for my painting in a bid to make myself feel less guilty for splurging on a shit ton of art supplies and to show a bit more of my work. You can find the account here. I might also post a bit on my painting practice here, if time permits.

No worries, I will still be illustrating and journaling as per usual. This is just to shed some light on something which has quietly been growing in the background, and is now ready to come out. Enjoy!

Here’s a long video of me rambling about how I went from sketchbook drawings to a self-published zine (that you can buy here). It’s too long, and, like I said, rambling - but I have zero time and energy to edit my videos, sooo whaddayagonnado, eh? Hope you enjoy it nonetheless, and for those of you with shorter attention spans (or just a dislike of my voice), there’s a 30 second reel up on Instagram too.

For a little window this summer, Covid-19 seemed to be retreating, and me and my young family escaped our city home to run around the french countryside for two weeks. I decided to turn it into a zine (you can buy a copy here).

We had booked this holiday in December of 2019, when Covid-19 was a mere small rumbling far away, and just never canceled - hopeful that the whole thing would have blown over by then. It didn’t, of course, but the owners of the house we were renting assured us we could keep our reservation and move it at no cost last minute if needed.

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We ended up getting lucky, able to travel legally and safely during this brief window of time where it seemed like Covid was on its way out. It felt odd, a bit scary, and liberating at the same time.

The zine talks about our nervousness traveling through this Covid-world, French food, pigeon poop, French medieval settler towns, castles, and how exhausting holidays can be with two adorable but intense little toddlers.

I hope you feel inspired to get a copy (please? I’ve got like two boxes of them in my mini studio now) and that It may provide some distraction as we head into the second wave. And if you do, let me know what you think!

This past month, every Tuesday evening after cooking dinner, I would quickly grab a plate and run upstairs to my studio desk (now also my office) to take an online course with the University of Arts London on illustrating books taught by Leni Kaufmann. Aside from it being a wonderful escape in the middle of a busy week of work, family, and chores - it also was incredibly productive! I created three new pieces, that have gone straight into my portfolio (see menu), I love them so much!

I’ve created:

A travel illustration for my hometown of Utrecht, which I adored. I so love drawing houses and adding historical information and insights to my drawings! It’s the art history major and history minor in me!

• A character study using different poses and emotions. This lady popped out from my sketchbook a few weeks back, and I decided to give her more space

• Finally, a book illustration featuring a piece by Cyrano de Bergerac on traveling to the moon using morning dew - something I came across in a science museum and was just delighted by, as it’s been heralded as the first piece of science fiction and description of rocket power (that latter one seems like a stretch to me, but hey).

In short: aside from the lovely teacher, wonderful inspiration and information - the key takeaway for me was that a few hours a week go a long way in creating some of your best werk!

Something different this time. A narrated sketchbook tour of my latest sketchbook. Not sure if this is better or worse, listening to my rambling - so let me know which kind of video you prefer!

The Netflix series I mention in this video are:

• Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

• Casa de Papel Would highly recommend both!

Materials:

• Seawhite of Brighton travel watercolor journal

• Bic mechanical pencil

• Winsor & Newton watercolors

• Pentel calligraphy ink pen

• Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 colored pencils

Music:
Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod used under a Creative Commons Attribution-licence, Source, Artist.

Watch me draw in my illustrated journal for May 19 & 20, 2020. When I drew this, the lockdown in response to Covid-19 was slowly lifting, meaning the boys went back to daycare again after a break of little over two months.

I’ve been journaling and drawing a lot during the entire Covid-19 crisis, and I’m aiming to scan my pages in at some point, but next up will be another flip through video (probably narrated and slowed down) - so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Hope you are all keeping safe and well <3

Am a bit behind with filming these, but catching up! Here's a sketchbook tour of my illustrated journal from July 2019 to January 2020. This sketchbook is about our summer holiday in France, starting a new job, and lots of rain and bikes. I also did a LOT more observational drawing this time around - people, babies, buildings. So glad I picked up that habit (again).

Journal: Moleskine A5
Materials: pencil, watercolor (Winsor & Newton), ink, and colored pencil (Caran d’Ache & Derwent Inktense)
Music: 'Morning Mandolin' - Chris Haugen

I haven’t been feeling my usual chipper self lately. It may be (and probably is) the completely lack of sleep or sunshine, or perhaps the realization that our London chapter is definitely behind us now (I can be a bit slow that way)… but this winter is bringing me down.

And so, alongside eating well and taking my vitamins, I’ve returned to my favorite therapist: journaling. I never stopped, but I had lost a certain habit. And so here they are: all of my journal pages whining about how hard my life is. Enjoy ;-)

This time, Ellen and I (who is definitely my inspiration in all things on location sketching) joined the Utrecht chapter of Urban Sketchers. I was a bit late, so most good seats had been taken. I ended up sketching the most boring part of the courtyard, but then switched it up by sketching my beautiful friend. It was cold, though, so by the end of it I had very little feeling left in my hands (or butt), but felt reinvigorated.

This summer we traveled to the Provence in France with the whole family. Inspired by Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Picasso, who all lived around the area at one point, I decided to draw more on location and from life. Because my parents and aunt joined us, we had babysitting, and this actually worked out. Also, our eldest developed a fountain obsession.m, so we just had to make sure we found a cafe located near a fountain, and we’d bought ourselves a solid two hours while he played around in the water and French pigeon poop. Score.

It would have been easy to cancel. With temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius, it wasn’t necessarily the best day to spend all day outside drawing in the sunshine. Yet that is what my dear friend Ellen Vesters and I did when we joined our Sketchbook Skool buddies for the Urban Sketchers Sketch Walk yesterday. I managed to do two sketches that I didn’t like at first, but now feel pretty ok about.

We went ‘glamping’ on Camping Bakkum earlier this month. It was still quite chilly, but we enjoyed one nice beach day, and spent the rest of the time walking around and enjoying nature and eating French fries and fish.