Whirlwind days

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind. Finishing work, shopping for my upcoming trip, celebrating a birthday, an anniversary. It feels like there just isn't enough time to do all the things I want or need to do before I leave, let alone having time to draw. I've created a few patterns in my sketchbook. I've doodled. But I also wanted to paint and start learning the basics of illustrator. No such luck yet.

In a couple of days I will be on the other side of the world. I wonder what this will do to my level of inspiration...I have a feeling it will go sky high. Perhaps I'll be overwhelmed, but I've got a sketchbook packed, watercolours and a brush. Pencils and microns too. I guess I'm ready, although it still feels surreal. Travel will do that to you, no?!

Reward for a job done

Home made pulla + coffee

Today is Ascension day, most people are off from work. I'm sitting in a cafe, working. I always enjoy working on a day when everyone else is enjoying there free time. Because that means, when everyone else is working, I'll have time to roam the semi deserted streets of the city. And to be ablt to do that, always fills me with joy.

I look out of the window. Only a few people walk by, and there's a lady on her bicycle, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Cars and trucks pass by, like any it's just any other day. And the cafe is filled with chatter and laughter. The smell of freshly brewed coffee is lingering in the air.

And as I am about to leave, a job well -or at least- done, I think about what's waiting for me at home: paint, pencils and paper. My reward for today.

Illustration Friday - Universe

An afternoon walk through rainy Amsterdam

It has been raining all day, the air is crisp. You'd almost think it's autumn, when you walk through the empty cobble stone streets.

I walked around town all morning. Taking pictures, drinking coffee, taking in al the sights. Noticing shapes, colours, textures. It's amazing what a little art making will do for the eye, it begins to see possibilities in everything. Art is always around the corner.

Pleased to meet you

Now that the first few posts are up, I figured it is time to share a bit more about myself. As you might know, I'd like to call myself a Dutch girl with a Nordic soul. I was born in the year depicted by George Orwell and I'm a writer by day and an artist by night. As a child I love making things, baking (I learned very early on, Rika was my teacher -and yes, Rika is not me, but I do use her name, more on that later on-) and collect things from our garden, pretending the garden was a forest.

Dutch girl with a Nordic soul

When I was sixteen I traveled to Finland to study at a Finnish high school, or 'Lukio'. From the moment I set foot on Finnish soil, I never wanted to leave. I spent a year living in Vantaa and Helsinki, going to a Finnish school, living with a Finnish family. Perhaps it was the age, perhaps it's just me, but my stay there shaped the rest of my life so far.

The year depicted by George Orwell

1984 is the year in which I was born, on an early Monday morning. This year I will receive thirty white long stemmed roses. The tradition of giving me the amount of white roses equal to the years I spent on earth, is one kept by my parents. I don't feel anywhere near thirty, but I'm excited to have a very good excuse to throw a party.

I grew up in a small town in the middel of Holland. Surrounded by wide green fields, a windmill and opposite of a home for the elderly. The window of my room looked out on their apartments. As such, I've had many 'neighbours' over the years. We waved and smiled at each other, until one day the room was empty and someone else would move in.

Once I came back from Finland, I never really moved back home. I finished my high school diploma in Haarlem. Moved to Amsterdam, later to The Hague. Eventually I moved back to Finland, but now I once again live in the Dutch capital city and I couldn't be happier. Well, a girl can (and must, if you ask me) always dream. And I sure do. Amsterdam is just a stepping stone to the rest of the world and who knows where I'll be next year. For the time being I'll make due with travelling. This year I will visit Berlin [march 2014], Cuba, Paris and New York City. Apart from a visit to a Nordic country and a day trip or two to Antwerp, for sure.

Writer by day artist by night or why I use a pseudonym

I once wrote a short bio that included the line 'writer by day and night'. Which is, true. I always write, but I also love to draw. Or doodle. Whatever you want to call it. Writing is my profession. It's how I earn a living and I do so, freelance. Which is why, when I started exploring the illustrated life, I chose to use a pseudonym. I don't want to be hold back in any way when making art, nor do I want to confuse my clients as to what it is that I do for a living.

Rika Bos

Rika Bos was born in 1924. She was my grandmother, my best friend, a fantastic seamstress and always had the best cookie selection. She died a couple of years ago. When I think about illustrations I always think about the birds and gentlemen with top hats she used to draw for me. Or about the beautiful geometric patterns she drew in her workbook when she studied to become a seamstress. This, amongst other reasons, is why I chose her name as a pseudonym for this blog and my illustration work.

Pleased to meet you

Enough about me, let's talk about you. I'd love receiving fun mail. So if you have a question or just want to say 'hi', don't hesitate to send me an email or leave a message on Instagram. Last but not least, thank you for visiting this space [and reading this very long about page]!

The first painting

A couple of days after I first started making art again, I decided to create a portrait of Rika, to celebrate the day she would have turned 90 years old. I didn't really know how to start, but I decided that if I truly wanted to make art, it didn't matter how, I just needed to finish it. And I did.

There are lots of things that I'm not happy with in the painting. I don't even know if I want to create portraits in this way. All I know is that it felt so good to just create it, thinking about her and the adventures we had together, while doing so.

Everywhere I look

Street art

Yesterday I shared a few photo's I took recently. It's funny how almost everything seems to inspire me to draw these days. The shape of a scale, the colour of a front door, the outline of a tree full of leaves. There are shapes, lines and colours everywhere. When you realise that, it can be quit overwhelming. You can't always stop to draw right then and there. I guess you just have to take it all in. Whatever ends up on paper, must be the thing that inspires you the most.