Running Around in Circles while Rambling.

Ah you guys! I'm in an odd mood lately, nothing negative, just...odd. I have tons of stuff that I could and want to talk or write about, but as soon as I sit down to write a post, I tend to wander away with my mind and I end up doodling something or just doing other stuff. I have a bunch of drafts now. So instead of coming with one of the many ideas that I have floating in mind for a post...I will just ramble and show you pictures ^_^.

So what have I been up to? Well, last few weeks have been crazy with arranging commissions. I say arranging as I need to keep my admin aspect in mind as well. Then I also have to actually work on them as well, but that is the fun part haha. You can still commission me though! Just e-mail me if you want to have more information. Next to that, I'm also working on my own little projects and seeing what direction I will head in for now. I'm dabbling in Fashion illustrations...dabbling in kiddies illustrations, cupcakes and monsters and I don't know what else. Have to say that the monsters and cupcakes got a life of their own and I'm working on something that I don't want to share just yet, need to think a few things through hehe.

But I do have to say that I feel...a tad all over the place at the moment. With the art fund being completely discarded, I started to re-think a lot of things and doing a lot of things. So many things, that I kinda lost track of what I want to do. So I took a few days where I was less behind my laptop and did some thinking as I definitely need a focus point for myself. I can't completely stop networking or sharing my doodle peeks (I'm addicted to my doodle peeks on Facebook). Let me just tell you that this...is...difficult. Most of you know that I love to do so many things *head desk*. And as much as I love to aimlessly wander around, this is not realistic. But I do have a better insight in what I want now, but times like this where I simply want to sit in a corner and stare are a tad annoying. However I'd annoy myself even more if I did nothing though.

Funny thing about the ink I used for the inky ladies. I absolutely disliked the fact it wasn't waterproof, while it says so on the bottle. After playing around with it for a while, I love the way it "bleeds". It creates an instant depth, so I don't need to mess around with washes of grey. Only thing is, I can't add a whole lot of color as the lines will bleed again if I add too many washes and the painting can result in a piece of...ehm...annoyance.

Can't curse as I probably scare people away.

And you know what else? I've been postponing the giveaway as I wanted to ponder a bit longer about the price and now my 3rd Blogoversary is almost here! Can you believe it? The third year will start soon. Never thought I'd be rambling to the World for three years in a row now hehe. The regular readers knoooooow that I always do a giveaway, so I'll wait a bit longer and do a giveaway in June ^_^.

 

Ah Pirate Cupcakes. How I love theeeee!!

I'll end my rambling now. Till next time everyone!

Not The End of the World, but it still Sucks!

Hey Everyone!

Don't you just hate it when things just don't go as planned? Last week really wasn't a good week for me. Such an annoyance.

First I had to deal with a stupid virus on my laptop. I had a lovely schedule and WOOSH it went out of the window as the virus decided to take over. If you saw a pretty paper with a ribbon flying around...it was my schedule and to-do list.  Rude, I say! Luckily, I could do a final back-up of my files, before little bro completely reformatted everything again. So now...it's fixed and my laptop is all new again. It's funny, I really missed posting my daily updates on FB and I realized all over again how often I use my laptop and how much information I've stored on it. I still need to install a few things to do my work easier.  So that's why I haven't updated you all with new Etsy items or the FB Giveaway. Just keep an close eye on this blog or my FB Page as it will happen soon. People who are expecting an e-mail from me...stay tuned please!

Okay. Second thing that happened. I believe I mentioned a while ago that I applied for an Art Fund, well I got the news that I didn't get it and the only reason that I didn't get it is because I didn't study Art. Formality in a world where creativity plays the main role...it seems like such a contradiction. There was a chance that this would happen, but I really wished they would look at the other requirements, my motivation and my art, but well no. Like I said in my title, it is not the end of the world, but of course a part of me did hope for positive news as I put so much time and effort in my report and with the money I'd get, I could do some things a bit easier.

Ah well. I was really bummed for a day or so, because the waiting was nerve wrecking! Sheesh. Understatement of the year. However, it's their loss and it's a closed chapter now. So I'm just focusing on my other projects :D.

The illustrations in this post, the originals will be in my Etsy soon! Ah I love the pretty colors. Yes. I am a huge Color Nerd hehe.

Fancy another read by me? Then Get Ready To...Ramble!! This is my latest column ^_^

Ciao Ciao! Till next post!

A Look in The Past: A Free Spirit.

It's storytelling time again and this is going to be a lengthy post...so get something to drink please ^_^

You know, ever since I started blogging in 2009, I wondered if I should write about her. I wondered if I could share this with you and if I did share it…how and when I would share it with you.

The how part is done by simply telling a story. Well...typing a story haha. All the other things I wondered about…well the timing simply wasn’t right for me.

I share a lot on my blog, but really personal things I don't share. Some things I share when the time is right. And this story…well there were two things I read the past couple of weeks that made me realize that I have to share this. The first time was when I read the beautifully poem by Melody, Theatre of the Night. The second time was a few days ago when I read a wonderful post from my Sweet Cher. Cher has a brilliant series of Characters in Her Life and how they left a mark in her life. Her latest Character post was about her cousin Patricia, who reminded me so much of a Character I knew as well. Can you recall the post, Lost Friends, where I wrote about how my neighbor influenced me with her long flowy hair? Most of my female characters have this element. However, there has been one lady who probably influenced me even more than I ever thought she did and more than she will ever know.

So…it is time to share a glimpse in my Past again. With the passing of my Grandad last year, I realized all over again how much impact an event like this can have. My Grandad wasn’t my first encounter with intense sadness though. The first one that really hit close to me was with her, my Aunt Sascha (pronounced as Sasha). Of course I have lost more people in my life, but most of them I barely knew, this doesn’t make them leaving Earth less meaningful though. It just changes when someone becomes an Angel who made an impact in your life. Sadly, sometimes you only find the hugeness of this impact when they are gone.

I looked up to her.  She was a quiet lady with a dreamy glance that was her trademark. When she looked at you, with her grey/green eyes, it made you feel like she saw more in you than everyone else. In my eyes she was so lovely and pretty. She absolutely loved nature and animals. Next to that, she was a painter, a drawer and most of all a dreamer with a big love for everything Native American (anyone recall my love for feathers…hehe) and everything with a magical and fantasy touch. She had her own Imaginative World where she often wandered off too. Some blamed her for doing so and told her that she had to be more realistic.

She wasn’t my ‘real’ aunt. She was married to my mom’s brother, but even after the divorce, I kept seeing her as my aunt. She is the mother of my sweet cousin and she looks more like her mom as each day passes.
After the divorce, I saw her less and less and before I knew it years passed by and then the news came that she was sick. She got a rare and very aggressive form of cancer. A form that isn't common at all for someone as young as she was. I believe she was 33 or 34 and she underwent her treatment like a warrior. She got the clear sign, but after a few months she heard that the cancer was back and this time it was also in her bones. There was no hope, but she still went through the body destroying treatment and fought for her life. It was surreal to see her a sick body, but a mind that was still the same and eyes that still had that dreamy glance. It is a glance I will never forget. She fought harder than ever and even the doctors were amazed that she was still around, simply because her body was basically a corpse already. How strange is that huh?

Her illness rested heavily on my shoulders and it was the first time I really started to question things like “why do these things happen to people?”…"Why did she have to suffer so much"…"it is not FAIR!". There were days that I couldn’t cope with it. So I called in sick from work several times, because I would sleep so awful during the night and wake up crying. Luckily everyone at work understood it all and supported me in every way they could. However, I did not expect her illness and her death to have such a big impact on me. After all she already had been gone for many years right? Boy. I seriously underestimated the impact she had on me when I was little. The impact she still has now. She soared away six years ago and she would have been 42 years old today. Even when all hope was gone, she fought. Her will to live, her love for life, was truly remarkable and something I will always keep at the back of my mind.

Needless to say, it also changed me. For the better, but I did not realize this until a while ago. I started drawing a lot more around six years ago…six years since she is gone. Even though I was in a haze of sadness, I could tap into my imagination a lot better. I could visualize what’s hiding in my own imagination a lot better and I never let go of it again. Maybe it’s because I realized that there is more to life than what people tell you….maybe I started to realize that I wanted more out of life…maybe it's something else. All I know is that this was a major turning point for me. 

Life is like a puzzle and it’s not the end result that matters…the pieces that make the puzzle matter. Finding and Clicking this particular puzzle piece with the others was saddening beautiful. 

I know this wasn’t the easiest story to read, it definitely wasn't easy to write and it may bring memories of people you knew as well. It may leave you feeling a bit sad and if this happened feel a hug across the ocean or border…depends on where you life of course. I just wanted to shine a spot light on a lady who touched my life by just being her, who dared to live in her Dream World and who kept believing in her own strength and determination till her very last day. There are positive things hidden in events that may seem too sad or too disheartening at first. Remarkable people usually live right before our own eyes. This is something we mustn't forget.

One last thing…She loooooved Unicorns. So I felt I had to include an Unicorn illustration for her. Do enlarge it for better view and thanks for reading everyone!

Tales from an Illustrator: Reflect and Move Forward.

Ciao Everyone!

First! My column, TJ on Illustrations, is up and I will post the new column every Friday. I will do more of these types of posts over there as it’s also like my personal diary type of thingy, but less rambly. To stay up to date, do hope over and subscribe. I promise, you won’t be disappointed ^_^

Okay, with being official and all, I knew that I had to come up with a more solid plan. You can’t just say ‘Oh I will start a business and sit back and relax or skip around being happy’ No. Next to that, my budget isn’t big, so I looked into other ways to get myself more noticed and get to know other creative people. That was my main focus point, to let others know that I’ve entered the Illustration World! What’s the point in being an artist if no one knows about you?

Quick doodle

I'll the most important things in a nutshell, because I can’t write every little thing down. It would probably bore you to death. This year has been all about being seen, getting noticed, working on more commissions and researching lots of things.

There are a lot of free portfolio sites and I signed up for several of them. Sounds good huh…but the real deal is that you have to keep them updated. I did pretty well for a little while, but then more projects and commissions started coming in and well…I started to update less. You see, when I registered as a ‘one lady business’, I got a few responsibilities, like a quarterly VAT registration and an hour registration. The horror. I had to set up my own administration and it takes some time to get used to it, because you don’t want to get in trouble with the Tax people.

Even though I didn’t update as much as I wanted too, I did have an increase in views and in subscribers. Though a Big Thank You goes out to everyone who shared and re-tweeted everything I did!! This played a huge part as well.

The Frosty Ladies (2011)

Next to this, I also signed up for Zazzle, Etsy, Redbubble & Society6. I did mention Zazzle last year, but the reason why I never mentioned the others on my blog is that I didn’t have anything good to sell yet. Or at least not good enough in my mind. I kept telling myself to schedule more time for personal projects, but with my already existing commissions and the fact my grandad got sicker…I really had to juggle with my time. I did my best to keep an eye on my time management, sometimes I just didn’t have the time to do everything I wanted to do. I will have a shop soon though, but this will be in a different post :-)

I started to use my Twitter and personal Facebook account for work and staying in touch with people. And you know, I did get a better view in interest when I created my fan page. Next to this, it also makes sure that I keep updating more regularly (Doodle of the Day!!). I have fans to entertain...hehe :D

So looking back, I definitely worked on more and bigger commissions and I got to know lots of lovely people. I also got a clearer view on what I want to do and what steps I need to take in order to get there. I added all my experiences in a rapport for a fund application as well. Up till a few weeks ago, I didn’t feel confident enough to send it in. Why? One of the requirements is an art diploma. I don’t have that, so by collecting everything I did in a year on my own, is hopefully enough to convince them to grant me the fund. Fingers crossed!

Hippie Lady (2011)

My learning points? Not doing waaaaaay too much! I easily said yes to a few projects and afterward I thought 'Whyyy did I do that?!' Also, knowing went to let things go and start anew. I can ponder about an illustration for too long and sometimes…you just have to let it go. Third, it’s best to stick to a limited number of social media and update that regularly. It is really time consuming to keep it all up to date!

I hope this was a bit interesting for you to read. It's probably best to do a quick update post every now and then, because doing it like this just make the post super long! And I don't want you guys to go like 'read, read, read...oh look birdies!!'...hehe. Birds are lovely though...

Take care everyone and you can still join for the Birthday Doodle Giveaway! Just comment on the correct post and not this one...

Ciao!

TJs Ramble: Just Checking in.

Hello Everyone!

Goodness. Time flies! I seriously thought only a week had passed since my last post. Err...sorry about that!

First of all, a big hello to all the new followers! Lovely to see you here. Don't be shy to share stories, thoughts or ask questions. Second of all, big Hugs to my sweet & awesome friend Tricia from Tershbango. She got married last weekend. I'm so happy for her!

Now...what have I been up to? Well a bunch of things haha. There are a few packages on their way to their owners and I'm still in the process of updating and organizing a lot of things, so to update you all with vague rambling would only confuse you. Once I've organize my mind and the illustrations arrived safe and sound I will write a big update post (maybe two...)! Are you getting scared...? Hehe.

Things like new projects, new illustrations that I need to edit and to share with the world and so on. Keep an eye on this blog please! Some of you are more on Facebook and if you want to stay updated there, do visit my fanpage (if you haven't already hehe). I update my page with quick sneak peeks, notes or questions, so for quicker updates that's the place to be! Everyone is welcome to share thoughts, ideas and ramblings as well. Looking forward to see you there ^_^

This was a sneak peek on my page. 

It's now edited and the original plus prints will be up for sale soon!! Excited!

I have a question: What are your favorite elements about Halloween? The parties? dressing up? cats? ghosts? pumpkins? Scaring people? I will do a poll on my page as well, but you can also comment below if you want to share some thoughts regarding Halloween. I'd love to hear it and see what I can incorporate in new illustrations. So please put your Witches & Wizards Hats on ;)

Yes. My mind is already drifting towards the upcoming holidays. I can't help it. I caught myself singing Jingle Bells & Dashing through the Snow several times already...

Hope you're all doing well and to everyone who lives in the area where Irene passed by...hope you're safe and got through it okay!

Till next time everyone.

Ciao!

Another Year Has Passed! (closed)

Hey Everyone!

I am back and it is...my second Blogoversary today! Hooray!! So yes. This means another giveaway. But first, I just wanted to start with a BIG thank you to all again for the lovely support you gave me on my previous post. I read every single comment when I was feeling down and your lovely words cheered me up quite a lot. I couldn't thank you enough. No need to worry, I'm doing okay ^_^.

 

Sneak peek at a larger painting I did for my friend Tony Berkman.
It's one of my faves. Fishies everywhere!

So the moment all of you have been waiting for (probably not, but okay haha). The winner of the previous giveaway is.............
 

Congratulations Hanis! I believe you choose an underwater theme. I shall contact you or if you read this and you haven't gotten an email yet, feel free to send an email.

Now! Let's go to the other giveaway ;) 

2nd Blogoversary Doodle Giveaway  (closed)

I can't believe another year has passed. So much happened in one year, from quitting my studies, being a official artist, meeting lots of new friends. Are you guys ready for the next year???

- Feel free to subscribe to my blog, like my Facebook page or both. 

- The winner can decide what theme he/ she wants. Illustration will be around A5 size.

- The winner shall be announced on June 21th, 2011! So check back if you join the giveaway.

If you want to join, just let me know in the comments below. Also, when I reach 100 likes on my page, there will be a giveaway as well. There are quite a few ways to obtain an original a la TJ! Fun stuff ahead :D.

This post won't be filled with updates or ramblings just yet. I need to reorganize a lot of stuff haha. Oh before I go! Have I showed you below illustration? I can't recall now. It was for a giveaway over at the Self Exams Doodles page! A little boy who loves pirates :D. He has it hanging proudly on his door now!

See yer here, there & everywhere! Arrrghhh...

Ciao!

A Sad Goodbye

My lovely friends,

My grandad passed away yesterday evening. He had been sick for quite some time and it seemed that with each time he had to stay in the hospital a piece of him went away. A proud man who refused to accept that he was sick. From the outside, he wasn't the same man that I used to know, but when he smiled or made jokes, I know he was still the same man on the inside.

It's strange, I had a strong feeling to see him yesterday and when I did, it was a shock to see how thin he had become in such a short amount of time. He truly was just a shell of the man he used to be. I knew he wouldn't be around for much longer, you could see how tired he was of fighting for his life. Shortly after we left, my dad got a call that things gotten worse and we head back. He became even thinner in the 2 hours that I hadn't seen him. It's bizarre. To see him, lying there, so silent, sick, but peaceful, was so surreal.

I'm grateful that he didn't suffer and when I was in the hospital, it was difficult. A part of me wanted to run away of all the sadness, another part of me wanted to stay. To hear the nurse say, that he's dying, I couldn't believe it. To hear the words 'He's gone'...I have no words to describe how that felt.

My mind is filled with memories, My heart is filled with love.

And even though my Soul is filled with tears, I know that with time it will get better.

He is in a better place now and I know he is out there, somewhere.

Watching over me and my family.

I need some time to give this space. I'll be back soon and then I shall announce the winner of the giveaway ^_^. As always, thanks for sticking with me on my journey and to the ones who already knew about my grandad, thank so so much for your love & support. It means the world to me!

xoxoxo

Time for a change

Hello there!

Guess who this is?! Yes it is me!! TJ! This is a short announcement that I will be back to blogging again! Hooray! Yes this means regular posting indeed. This isn't the usual rambling post tho. The last few weeks were exhausting and I had some serious thinking to do and decisions to make. After serious thinking (sleepless nights etc etc), I decided to end my studies.

A few of you already knew,  that I was going through a tough time and had a few difficult situations. So for the ones who didn't know it yet...it may be a bit shocking. I don't easily share stuff either, so that's why there were no signs via my posts. I tried to stay as positive as possible and I didn't want to add clouds (aka a sad undertone) over this little happy blog of mine. A lot of stuff happened in a short amount of time and without getting too much in it...it was very hard to focus and I kept wondering what I was doing. My health got pretty bad too and the amount of stress was eventually too much. I never thought I would be making a decision like this, but I've been struggling with it for a really long time now.

Some of you may think, 'But I thought you were almost done!?'...

Yeah I thought so too, but every meeting resulted in more editing and proofreading, it wasn't funny anymore. With the pace it was going, I was looking at several months of work again. Time I'm not willing spend on it now. It was time to make a decision. maybe I'll get back to it in the near future, maybe I won't. I do already have a degree and I'm more than happy for this. It's not that I don't have a educational background already. I learned a lot over the past years, but it's time to focus on what I really want now. To all you lovely readers out there, I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate the fact that you were rooting for me, checking up on me and all those things! They were just like little beams of light in a period that was kinda dark for me. Thanks so much for this and also for sticking around ^_^.

So it's time for a new adventure, a new start! And yes. A new header! What do you guys think? I think it's perfect for Summer. Grab a cocktail, enjoy the day and have fun!

Also a quick doodle for you guys. Even tinier chibis hehe. I think I need to come up with a name for my characters now...

Thanks for reading as always and till next time!

Ciao!

Not back just yet, but.......

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY to ME!!

You guys! Today it's one year exactly that I started blogging! Now I can't just let this Blog anniversary pass right!! So a quick doodle for you guys:

*sigh* this is such a crappy scan...-_-''

There are enough baked goodies to go around. So help yourself! Thanks so much for strolling along with me on this interesting journey. There is more on its way once I get back. I'm busy with rewriting and proofreading thesis stuff....booorrriiinnnggg *sigh*. I'm counting the days that I can return to blogging again and share new observations and rambles with you guys. You know...the usual stuff haha.

Oh before I go, I would like to pass a HUGE THANK YOU to the lovely ladies Elisa, Dita & Ianne for giving me the awards below. I really appreciate it and I'm honoured! Thank you!!

Hope you are all well & Take care.
Ciao Xoxo

PS.: Ooh you guys, check out the first couple of posts I did. Seriously the drawing style has changed quite a bit haha.

Packing up my blog for a while

My lovely readers,

I think you might have noticed a lack of posts for a while now. My apologies! I tried to schedule some time for posting, but I kept postponing it and the drawings I wanted to show you related to the project were bugging me and I didn’t want to post that just yet. For a few weeks now things got a bit hectic and it got to me physically; leaving me very tired. The end of my thesis is in sight and I will focus the upcoming weeks only on this. I need to check this adventure off my list for once and for all!

So my blog will be sleeping for a few weeks, I do hope you guys stop by, read, comment, send an email….I love to hear from you guys and reading your notes makes my day and probably makes me work faster to get back to blogging hehe ^_^. And I will reply to you, maybe not as quick as usually, but a response shall await you!

Before I go, I do have some things to show you. They are related to the 12WC project and one was a commission. Enlarge them for better view!!

First a few Dudettes & Pets. I can't seem to find the sketch I did on them on my laptop...hmm...either way, this is the final version of three small characters. I owe you guys their background story! Do you remember the Dudes & Pets? I will do a similar thing for them too.

A preview of the theme Clogism! This theme came to live during a conversation with ms. Claire and Jenn (do check out their awesome blogs!). A conversation about a 'religion' named Clogism (for the ones who don't know it yet...I live in the Netherlands.). A fun theme haha. I have a more sketches waiting to be inked & colored. It will be a line for cards and shirts. A fun twist to the traditional elements in Holland. Oh don't worry, cheese, windmills & tulips shall be featured on it as well hehe.

The commission I did was for a lovely lady who send me such a fun email with lots of elements to choose from to be featured on a drawing. I tried to combine most of the elements in one drawing and...tadaaa... this is the result:

I hope you liked it and do not worry! I won’t stop doodling, so when I get back to blogging I will have lots to show you. Fun times ahead my friends! For my 12WC challengers, I won’t stop with the project either, I will do things a bit more slow without the pressure of posting things.

Do take care everyone and see you all when I get back!
*waves*
Ciao Xoxo

Fun stuff: Project Zero2illo & some doodles!

Well hello there!

Before I start I want to pass a big (okay now it's belated) Happy Birthday to my friend. I created this lovely doodle for him. Why this image? Well my friend is called Lord Hats and he has lots of sheep...hehe (and no he's not imaginary...in case some of you were wondering that...).

So next thing! Maybe some of you saw a little logo to your left...maybe some of you didn't, that's why I'm writing this post haha! Oh and I have 2 mug designs for you again.

A few weeks ago I came across a tweet, post or ehm...something else. I can't recall, but it was some information about a blog Zero2illo and a 12 week challenge. I got interested and it did cross my mind though, if it was the right decision for me to make.
You know sometimes you want to do something, but you have this annoying voice at the back of your mind telling you "Ehmmm you sure you should eat that?" or "Are you sure...you want to do that?" ....well this annoying voice wasn't there and I only kept thinking that this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I guess if you really want something you can make it work even though you keep on struggling with time and less energy!

So I wanna say a HUGE thank you to Jonathan and Lea Woodward for creating this awesome challenge! I'm so happy to be part of it! I'll try to blog about it every two weeks and give you lovely readers an update on what I've done and learned so far. I'll give a short update about the first three weeks.

Week one: Here we had to choose a focus point. What do we want to illustrate? Well in short, when I sit back and think about my work, I see the characters I create dancing around in children rooms and books. The characters are part of larger Fantasy world and the colors can be either soft and barely there or they are vibrant. Either way, it's filled with adventure! At the moment, I prefer taking the time and create pieces for books, posters, cards, stationary gifts and freelancing to illustrate paintings for e.g. a children room. So my main focus will be on this, until I know what my next steps are.

Week two: We had to create an business plan! It's a one page plan with our objectives, goals, strategies and measures. Ooh exciting hehe. Well surprisingly I didn't found it a very difficult task. Okay, not that I got the perfect OGSM, not at all, but I have a start and I will perfect it over the weeks to come. To get a glimpse, click the image below ^_^. Tips/Feedback/advice are always welcome. Ooh the doodle I have on it is also a mug design print for another friend. You can see it at the end of the post.

I added motivation words for myself on it.
For me, one word can carry so much strength and can remind you of a simple message.

Week three: Now we have to find 10 publishers/companies/art directors etc, that we want to get in contact with. Also we need to think of 6 pieces to include in our portfolio. Fun stuff! I'm still pondering about it, but I already have a few ideas. I just need to see if it's in tune with the OGSM.

This is in short what I've done so far. I didn't focus on how much I want to earn by the end of 2010 or how many commissions I want to have. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't know what to expect. I just take it step by step and learn about the lovely world of illustrating as I go along.

As promised!! The 2 mug designs for my friends who had her birthday a while back, but I guess everyone is happy with a belated Birthday gift ^_^.

and

Hope you liked this little update! Oh, are you guys interested in how the designs look on the mug itself? Let me know and I'll put some pictures together for you.

Take care & Till next time.

To Inspire & To be Inspired

Hello there!!

What do you guys think of the new layout? Feel free to give tips on what I can change etc. Oh! You like the header? I'm not sure if I find it a tad too big...I shall think about it a bit longer.

Finally the post is here and remember my warning? It's okay, I shall wait till you get something to drink/eat ^_^!

This post is more observational, because a while ago someone asked me what exactly inspired me to draw or to keep drawing. It got me thinking because drawing has always been a part of my life, so I never really considered the ‘why’ part. Drawing is something that runs in both sides of the family. So this got me also wondering, because having the talent running in the family doesn't automatically mean that you will inherit the ability to draw. I do believe that hard work, putting in lots of hours (which I don't really have right now -_-') and having the will to get better, plays a big role in how good you can get in whatever you love to do. But this is probably a discussion for another post hehe.
I've always been interested in creating stuff on paper. Armed with a piece of paper and a pencil, I started doodling stuff, which was probably unrecognizable for my surroundings, but they told a story in my mind. When I was little the youngest brother of my mom was in my eyes the best drawer in the world! He's still included in my list of amazing talented artists ^_^. His style is greatly influenced by Japanese Anime and he can whip up a super cool sketch in no time. I was always fascinated to see how he did that and I wished I could do that as well. Another sister of my mom, her style leaned more towards fashion designing and my mom always told stories about how accurate her portraits were. So feeling inspired by him and my aunt, I started to draw from a young age. By pausing Disney tapes, I studied e.g. Bambi. I would have loved to show you how it looked like, but the strange part is...I can't find a single Bambi drawing! I honestly don't know where they went or what I did with them. I drew it countless of times! Very strange indeed…I also can’t seem to find other old drawings. I wonder what I did to them…

It seems like I've written 'Inspiratione'...I didn't.
That weird thing I did at the end got a life of its own...

Either way! What keeps me inspired? For me, inspiration can be found in the smallest and plainest things in life. Maybe you see dust twirling in a sun beam and it sparks a feeling, an image or an idea. I can't really explain how it is in my case, but it feels like it sparks forgotten memories or maybe even memories that haven't be created yet. And it's not that these memories suddenly flash before your eyes, but what I eventually grasp is this feeling that will be translated in a drawing or story piece. It's quite difficult to put it in words though, but I hope you understand what I mean ^_^. Also, just talking to people or hearing others talk, can inspire me to draw something. There are so many interesting things in the world, that I often find myself just daydreaming and creating new worlds in my mind. So I try to capture all this in words or quick sketches and I will work on this as soon as I'm finished with school (I seriously can't wait!!).

What I’m really grateful for is hearing from others that I inspire them. I never considered this at all, but it is kinda logic in the end. To be inspired by others, you improve your own skills and you inspire others to get better. It’s a vicious circle, but I got kinda stuck at the part where I only get inspired by others hehe.

Oh! This one time I scared a dude when he pulled out his sketchbook and I blurted out “Wow! Your style looks a lot like my uncle’s!”…he grabbed his inhalator several moments later...Yeah. I felt kinda bad, but he was a cool dude and sketched some cool stuff while we traveled together. Watching others draw is something I love to do, but the other way around, when people watch me draw…that doesn’t go to well yet haha. I get a bit self conscious and I create something totally different! Need to work on that hehe.


I would love to hear what inspires you in what you love to do, or more general life!

Take care and have a lovely week!

Just be Happy!

Good day my dear readers,

The weather has been soo lovely lately! An instant boost of happiness. I kid you not. It's really nice to see how the world outside my window is slowly being warmed up by the sun. I do hope it stays this way and that the Spring has come a bit early. (You see Sensi...the sun does like me haha!)

But on to drawings! Yes, this post is all about staring at pictures! Okay the first one, I created this one for my friend Cathy and her husband Rory. Cathy is a sweet lady who embraces positivity in life. I created something a while back, but I never got around to finish it. It's so easy to create smaller sketches amongst all my paperwork *sigh*. But it's done and I'm really glad she liked it!

Enlarge it for better view and Claire, relax! These aren't bubbles hehe!

I thought working with a lot color would be nice and I even came up with a slogan to fit it all. Main idea was to create a colorful, happy illustration. So being happy: I do think, that you have to start at yourself by being positive and this will be noticed by others. So in other words Start with your own sunshine to illuminate the world around you. Of course this can be strengthened if you surround yourself with things that make you happy.

On to....mystical creatures ha! Another friend of mine mr. Lonewolfrepose, asked me if I could draw unicorns for email buttons. Say hello to...oh shoot! LWR...what are their names?

The blue one is inspired by Disney's Pegasus from Hercules.

On to the next one! When I still had classes last year, I drew something with a cupcake and birdies and girls. My friend asked if she could have this as a bigger drawing. How can I refuse an opportunity to draw :D. So I created what you can see below:

The next one is a stamp design that I created for Nicx. This time a chibi boy. Up till now I only created chibi girls. I think I need to start drawing more chibi boys...

Peace!

Last but not least, I received the 'Happy Blog' Award from Mystique Earth. Many Thanks Mystique Earth ^_^! I do have to apologize that I won't answer the questionnaire that came with it properly. I had to state 10 things that made me happy. Well, there are a bunch of things that make me happy. Drawing!! And of course a sunny day, a good book, music, cookies, doing something unexpected for a friend etc. My list can go on and on. I also had to pass it on to 10 other bloggers, but I can't choose -_-'...

But! I would love to know what makes you happy?

So this concludes this week's post! Hope you liked all the drawings! Believe me, there are a bunch more that I can show you guys. If there's something you would like to see or know, just...let me know.

Wish you all a wonderful week & take care everyone!

Cya!

PS.: Oh yeah! You can find the pages under my header and in the side bar you will see a 'Tweet' button!

So...why not Arts?

So are you sitting comfortable? Having something to drink? Today the story shall be told, why I didn't choose an Art study when I was younger. Man! I tweaked a lot in this post, it was waaay too long! I do hope you guys get more insight, otherwise let me know if you still have questions.

'Why not Arts?'. I said it a lot out loud so many times, but all I heard was an echo through my room and the question was bounced back at me again -_-'. Usually I wondered about this when things at school got a bit too frustrated. In my mind, I wanted to have a safety net, a 'society approved' study as back up. Also I still didn’t believe that my drawing skills could get me somewhere.

So what shall I do...

After high school graduation, I choose Human Resources (HR). It did faintly cross my mind to do an Art study, but I heard a lot from my surroundings that it was an study with a high level of job uncertainty, a lot of competition bla bla bla. HR it was. This study didn’t turn out as I really hoped. They inconveniently decided to implement a new study system, with coaching methods, individual development. I really, really disliked reflecting on myself and others in my group. What made it worse is that I had a coach who was really sticking to the system and who gave everyone a hard time with questions like: ‘Why would you do that?”, “What would you do differently?” etc. Now when I look back, it did give me a better insight in a lot of things. But I can assure you it was a pain in the ass to go through.

At school, this feeling that I just didn’t quite fit, kept lingering around me, but I didn’t had the courage to stop with HR. I’ve always been the youngest in my class and here the gap between me and fellow students seemed a lot bigger. Next to the age difference, a lot already did internships or worked in companies. They had actual work experience. All I had were text book examples and knowledge. The thing was when I choose HR, I was interested in what the study had to offer. But you develop and grow as a person while you study too and I find so many things interesting (really. I can be so tiring towards myself.), so after a while I was getting a bit restless and my interests shifted again. But dropping out of school, was too easy for me and I was already half way, so I decided to finish HR. I kept doodling of course, but I never considered myself to be an artist, even though a lot of people did. Therefore, I was still unsure about an Arts study.

There were signs throughout the years, that pointed me towards Arts. But you always see these signs, when you look back. When they actually happen, you are not aware of them. So, I felt trapped in my own creativity. I wanted to draw, but I was afraid that my love for drawing would disappear, if I took a more serious take with it.

Things happen for a reason and who knows, maybe I wouldn't be drawing in the way like I do now? All I know is, that life is all about making choices and I do think that if you're meant to do something in life, it will cross your path until you realize you have to do something with it.

But you need to have the faith, patience, passion and courage to do what you really want in life. Fear to disappoint myself and disbelief kept me from doing what I want. Nothing is impossible, you can however, make it impossible by thinking it is.

Mission (Im)possible...

Ha! With this I shall conclude my post! Hope you liked it and many thanks if you read it…even though it was kinda long. Just remember it was…longer hehe!

Take care everyone!

A Small Change, do you see it?

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much to all of you who read the previous post! Man, it was quite long and the doodles just made it longer, but I'm very happy with the positive response on it! I'm not kidding when I say that this positivity gives me more motivation to work on my thesis! Okay, a quick post for now. Do you notice something different ^_^? It's okay...take your time...

*.....an hour later...*

Woohoo! You saw it correctly! I have a new header. The snowy Christmas header was annoying me for quite some time now. So do you like it? I actually wanted to use the drawing below as a header, but I thought it was too crowded. Since I turn most people into chibi's, I thought it would be fun to have me, my sisters and little bro, on a header, but no. It didn't look good. Maybe it is because of the colors I used, or the cupcakes are too big, I don't know. All I know is that I didn't like it. I plan to change my header quite often, but you just have to stay tuned ^_^. Of course if you have any ideas, let me know!

My little bro is always sneaking away with cupcakes, brownies, chocolate chip cookies...
pretty much anything I bake ^_^

Well as I promised, this is a short post (sort of hehe). I thought it would be a good thing to do, because my previous post was...well...a bit long. I still owe you the story why I didn't choose an Art study...make sure you have your hot drink and cookies ready!

Ciao!

A look in the past: Studying...

Are you sitting comfortable and having something to drink? Good. So my thesis. I mentioned my thesis several times in my posts, but I never really mentioned what it is about basically…I didn’t want to bore you guys with the subject. But okay, some of you wanted to know and it slowly becomes a danger for future postings...so you all deserve to know what's holding me in its grip for the weeks to come...First, let me tell you a little bit about my school career. At the moment I study sociology for my Master’s degree at the Erasmus University. Before this I studied Human Resource management (HRM) for 4 years and I got my Bachelor’s degree. Here I also had to write my first thesis and this thesis was connected to a international project ( and a two week trip to Lithuania ^_^!). But okay, studying went fairly easy and I graduated at the age of 20. After graduation, I decided to go for my Master’s degree in Sociology. This study is like an extension of my previous study, so a lot of information is known to a certain level and therefore seeing resemblances in theories, understanding how society works was not that difficult. But now I'm at the end again and the final challenge is my thesis...

It seriously looks like I'm giving the finger to my laptop...that I didn't mean to do...

I can tell a lot more how the years of studying went, but I will spare you all the details. The thing that makes it difficult now is the continuing editing process. My first thesis wasn't that difficult to write, maybe it made it easier for me because I loved the international aspect of my thesis and I wrote it in English. For some reason writing in English comes more fluently for me than writing in Dutch...and I'm Dutch -_-. Either way, the rules for handing in the final research were not complicated at all. I started with the subjects’ individualization and globalization last year and after reading lots and lots of articles and theories, I came across one article from Julian Le Grand, that caught my eye immediately. Le Grand did a research about the motivation, agency and public policy of civilians, which he categorizes as Knights & Knaves.

In short, knights are altruistic of nature and knaves are self centered. A civilian has each role, but one can be more present then the other. This depends for example on generation differences. I want to combine these motivations with an up to date subject and I chose aging of the population. The main thoughts of my thesis is: how motivations could have changed over time and how civilians will support labor market participation of elderly and also why they wouldn't support this.
To do this, I have to analyze data and keep reading and keep analyzing information. After reading a bunch of things…again…I’m struggling with the definition and use of certain words. And it is important to get all of this straightened out now, before I really start with the data (Luckily I already have the data, thanks to my professors!).
But yeah, finding the right definitions, otherwise it will be a real pain in the ass, to edit it afterward. Don't get me wrong, I like Sociology and I find it really interesting to see how an individual can act like a society, but all these years of studying just really made me tired and I’m losing my motivation to study like I used to ^_^’…

Throughout the years I often got the question ‘Why didn’t you study Arts or did something with drawing for that matter?’. Well, this is a story for another post…I think this one is already quite long hehe (and I just stuck to the core elements haha!). But if you want to know more or have questions about something more specific about my thesis, just let me know.
Thanks for reading this ehm...more 'serious' post hehe! Hope you liked the doodles too ^_^! I didn't do something fancy with them this time.

Ciao!

A Fresh Start! Well...sort of.

Hey there!

Sorry that my first post in 2010 was a 'Technorati claim' number...hehe. I decided to go through all the things I registered at when I first started blogging and I found out that something went wrong with my Technorati account, so I thought let me see if I can fix it...otherwise I will delete my account there too. I guess everyone who starts blogging goes through that phase to register at all different sorts of sites to promote your blog and later on you know which you can delete and which are useful. So far only one site has been useful. Ah well, we shall see how this Technorati thing goes. On to more fun things!!

I hope everyone had a good start of the new year and that you're following your resolutions. That is, if you had any resolutions...

I don't really follow this whole 'new year resolution' thing, don't get me wrong. I do have goals and things I want to do, but I don't wait until the new year starts to work on them ^_^. I do admit that it is easier to get things in perspective or gain more clarity in what you want to do when a new year start. It feels like a fresh start even though nothing really new happens when you go from December 31st to January 1st. They are just days, only one is in 2009 and the other in 2010. So instead of writing the year different is dates, nothing really changes right?
Because of this 'clarity thing', I also finished every commission I had in 2009 before 2010 started. Again this feeling of beginning with an empty list, just cleared my mind a bit. You guys know what I mean? Not sure if there are more people who have this feeling.

So for my blog, I don't have big resolutions, goals or big changes for that matter. I'll just blog the way I always did and hopefully surprise you all with new content and interesting topics (hopefully the topics are as interesting for you guys as it is for me...). I have so many ideas and I shall share most of that with all you lovely readers. But I have to say that me posting new stuff shall be a bit irregular until I'm used to my new work routine. A new work routine? Yes. a new routine. The thing is, I need to finish my thesis asap! Wanna know why? Because it's a pain in the @#$% (yes fill in any word) instead of good learning process. So that will be my main priority for the upcoming weeks. First I thought to place the blogging aside for a while, but for some reason this didn't feel right and it takes my mind of things too. So I will post whenever I can, but I can't guarantee that it will be like every week or twice a week...

Wanna see how I will spend my days the upcoming weeks?

ZzzZzzZzzzz

Yes. I wonder how much work I'll get done hehe!

Thanks for stopping by and till next time!

Ciao!

My desk, a Natural Mess.

This is one for you Claire!!*does a dramatic gesture, just like a singer who is about to perform a super cool song* and of course for everyone else who wondered where I draw...but maybe Claire was the only one...

Well I'm not going to sing, but I will give you a sneak peek at my drawing area ^_^. I don't have a fancy drawing table...my desk is filled with a small collection of books, my drawing stuff and my school stuff. As you can see below (maybe a good idea, to click on the pictures):

Tadaa!! I give you my word, that it normally looks kinda like this.
Really. Not kidding.

I do like the color in my room. Really bright even in the darkest of days (Okay well, almost, I do need to switch on the light when it gets too dark...). I hand painted the large walls in my room (it is the attic)... When we just moved, me and my dad first placed a structure paste on both walls. My dad just smacked it on and I had a small 'shovel' and I brought more structure in it. After this, it was time to paint! The color, terracotta, is a warm orange color with a subtle golden undertone. I love this color. When the sun shines on it, you see tiny pecks of gold. Very lovely!

Too bad you can't see the subtle golden element of this paint...
but you can see a bit of structure.

Okay on to what you can see on the pictures! I have two wooden drawing models, I call them Jack and Jack jr....they like to act dramatic and jump in the air. A few of my brushes are in my "Ireland" mug ^_^. My 'Starbucks' mug holds a lot of pens. Funny thing, I can never find a pen when I need one, but I always forget I have a mug full with pens in my room -_-. Also you can see the watercolors I use and several mediums for watercolors (which I sometimes use). I have two wooden boxes where I keep more pencils and brushes, but since I only have one workspace, I have to clean everything up, otherwise...I can't work for my thesis. The temptation to draw the whole day would be too big! So I clean most of my stuff up.
Oh the books you saw in the first picture; well I have my cook books, drawing books and fiction books all together. As you can see, lots of 'chick lits', these are for my studies at how all these writers, write their stories. One of my own projects is a chick lit. So I want to see what styles other writers use and they are fun too read ^_^.

So I hope you like this tiny sneak peak of a part of my room haha. Oh! Another thing. It snowed today! I made pictures, just to show you guys some proof, but I forgot the cable to transfer the pictures to my laptop...yes. I'm so smart sometimes. I will show it you next time. I really hoped that we would have snow on Christmas...but the weatherdude already said that the temperatures will rise next week -_-'...seriously!

Just a random doodle...

I just brushed some water on paper and drew this with a watercolor pencil
blue, red and purple.

Take care!