February

February was a wet, windy and somewhat practical month for me. I didn’t do a lot of art, but I spend a lot of time re-organising my studio, getting my paperwork in order and just general practical stuff that comes with running a business. It’s also time to get back into lesson recording mode again! 

I will probably try to do a video with every blog from now on, because I like doing both and can choose lol. So you can watch the video, or if you want some peace and quiet, read the blog. 🙂

Wobbly adventures and a new studio

The old layout of my studio had been bothering me for quite a while. But I’m terrible at changing things gradually, one thing at a time; it needs to perfect in one go. That led to a lot of frustration, which then results in me doing nothing at all of course. I have a sizeable space, it’s by no means tiny. But my issue has always been that I need to combine different tasks that all require a certain amount of space; painting, video recording, computer work and editing. And I wanted to find a flow in which I didn’t constantly had to build and then clean up a construction for every activity. Basically, I want to be able to leave my palette and tubes out at the end of the day. At the same time, leave my recording setup as well. And all that, while not tripping over shit and breaking my neck. (and my camera)

Another thing I needed to address was my posture. Here’s the short story; I have terrible posture. It seems embedded in my DNA, not kidding. Since I was a kid I problems with the way I sit, stand, walk, write and even sleep. When I so much as focus on something, my body takes on the least favourable position. I tried a lot of things, like working while standing, doing exercises and setting timers. Some work for a while but none are very practical in all situations. Editing a video while standing isn’t my jam haha.

I remembered that at some point, my son had these wobble stools at school. They also had table that could be adjusted in height. During a parent meeting, we all had to sit on them and I actually really liked it. So the basic plan was to get height-adjustable tables and wobbly chairs!

I happily threw the whole thing at Google to find myself some place to buy all that and was hit with…the price. Oh my universe. These wobbly things cost a damn fortune. The ugly ones a small fortune, the nicer ones a lifetime fortune.

But fortunately for me, the human basic need for over consumption led me to a secondhand website that offered them for a very reasonable price. I was happy! My nice looking Wilkhahn stools were my first purchase and now it was time for desks and storage. 

Panels in progress

In January I started a bunch of panels and I must admit…I haven’t worked on them much. Let’s just say the flow comes and goes eh? I do have plans for them, and plans for more works. The good thing is that they’re all bone dry so I can do anything I want in the next phase, such as glazing. We’ll see where they take us this month.

Live sketching practice

I was happy to learn there was another nude figure sketching session hosted at my local music venue. The last time I went was a while ago, but I met someone there which was nice. So I texted her to see if she was coming this time as well and she was. My best friend Anna was able to come as well so I was excited.

I was hoping there would be a male model because it’s almost always women. But I was (briefly) disappointed. Briefly, because we had a model who was very experienced, and had even modelled for the well-known Dutch tv programme Project Rembrandt. In this show, amateur artists are put to the test to work on all kinds of art assignments. It’s a great show and I remember the assignment she was featured in as a model!

I wrote on my Instagram that week, how I was in a much better place during this session. Over the past few months I’d been practising my sketching technique and my ability to measure and translate to paper. It also resulted in being less nervous and distracted by surrounding elements. It was a pleasant experience for a change!

Arnhem Museum, the good and the bad

I thought I’d visited one museum this month, but thanks to my son’s school trip I visited two! The first was the Arnhem Museum that my mum and I visited because we were in town for something else. They usually have a nice standard collection, but that had to make room for the exhibition “Art in the third reich”. There was also a smaller exhibition by Charlotte Schleiffert, called “Tolerance Test”, featuring larger-than-life figure paintings on paper. Amazing work, truly. I was really happy to get to know this artist. Please check out her website! 

The main exhibition was something that had been on my mind, in terms of wether I wanted to visit it or not. I decided at some point that I didn’t want to travel for it, only to watch art from this horrible time period. But at the same time I felt that I needed to see it? It felt like it was my responsibility to educate myself further on this. The funny thing was that at the end of the expo, there was information about that same struggle; some people wanted to cancel these works and the artists who made them, and other felt it was needed to show them. Maybe we should always struggle with these topics; it keeps us on our toes, thinking critically about our past.

No photographs were allowed at this expo for obvious reasons. But fortunately the rest of the museum was beautiful, and the sculpture garden had this awesome work by Maria Roosen called “Bunch of Breasts” (“Borstentros”) which lifted my mood again.

I do hope you enjoy these little updates every now and then! Thank you for any comments and thoughts and until next time. <3