René Gruau & Al Hirschfeld

Here are some pictures of two illustrators whom I greatly admire and who both had their creative peak in or around the fifties of the 20th century.
I discovered René Gruau about 20 years ago, when I studied fashion at the Arnhem Fashion Institute. I fell for his highly fashionable illustrations and his bold lines and graphic colours. He seemed almost directly influenced by french artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Although in a very fifities and sixties style his best work can be described as timeless.
Al Hirschfeld is another artist who never bores me. One year ago I bought some of his books and one was filled with drawings he made of the people who lived in Harlem during the fourties of the twentieth century. The images have the same speed and vivacity as those of Gruau. Unlike his other work, Hirschfeld used colours in this book.

digital caricatures for Besam

Here are some digital caricatures I made on a garden fair for Besam.
For me the difficult part of working digitally is the slick glass surface of the cintiq. You can compare it with drawing on a window. It makes you feel that you're not in control, that the pen is slipping away.
When I draw the faces, I can handle that feeling. But I'm not so sure of myself when it comes to bodies, themes, hobbies etc.
Here are some drawings where I tried to draw backgrounds, situations etc. I think it makes the caricature more lively, funnier too. And it's fun for me to keep trying new things!

Zeeland Business Media

Here's a selection of the digital caricatures I made for Zeeland Business Media during the 'Contacta 2009' in Goes, Zeeland.

kijkdoos

Isn't this cute! I had to make a colouring picture for Theater 'De Naald' back in July (see this post) and together with that came a contest. Children had to colour the picture, cut the pieces out and make some kind of diorama of it and then send it to De Naald. These two photos show the winners. One is 3 year old (I guess he or she did it with a little help from his mom or dad) and the other 8 years.

fresh ones!

cartoons for RIBW

Here's a selection of some cartoons I made last tuesday during a brainstorm session of RIBW, an organisation that supports people with a psychiatric background. The fonts were implemented later, at home, on my computer. I choose the images that might be recognisable even without words. It's all about (mis)communication, guidance, who's on the steering wheel etc.

Cartoon for GGD Rivierenland