New Book!

These past months have probably been the busiest time I've ever had. But this week I wrapped up work on my current assignments, though the picturebook I'm making is currently sort of on hold.
But I did finish the illustrations for another book this week. It's for the striped books, the series of children's books I've previously illustrated two other books for.

Unfortunately as is usually the case, I can't show you everything I've done yet. I don't know when the book will come out, and the other stuff I've done will have to wait for the summer.
But here's a tiny preview from the striped book. It was the first time I've had to draw for a book for toddlers. Which was somewhat of a challenge.

Still I'm looking forward to the moment where I can show you what I've made, I think some of the pictures for this book are among the best work I've done.

Before I forget, next week I'll be posting my first illustration for Picture Book Report!

Sneak Peeks

Here are some parts of things I've been working on that can't really be revealed yet. Well, not entirely.

Confounded evolutionary remnants

Not much by way of updates lately due to a very uncooperative appendix. I've been in the hospital for a couple of days and the whole recuperating thing is a bit more messy than was expected. So I won't be updating for a while as I've got a very busy schedule until the 13th of november.
After which I'll have plenty of new things to share with you.
Untill then, here are some mushrooms I did not make up.

Where man has Oregone before

Painted Hills, originally uploaded by groene_inkt.

I'm in Oregon at the moment, have been for three weeks actually, and will be for another three. Things are grand, I'm very busy with a new book for Pica (and there's no end in sight in terms of illustratin').
The weekends are free for traveling though, two weeks ago we went to the desert and saw the painted hills.
Go to the Flickr for more pictures.

(and from the title of this post I guess you can deduce what film I saw last)

back home - Catching up part 1

Today I came home with lots of things. Most of them came from my father's house,
but some of it was mine before. Namely a bunch of prints and drawings from the Zone5300 exhibition in november.
And here's something I never had the chance to put up here. They're leaves I found last autumn.

3... 2... 1...

And we're back.
For the moment. Things have been blisteringly busy, and for the most part not for the best of reasons. But here's part of an illustration I worked on till the dead of night to meet its deadline. Though I didn't mind, it's one I'm quite pleased with. It's going to appear in the next Boekie boekie and it's big!

Now, to do some sketches for another little job. (I'm so happy to be drawing again)

Digging things up

I'm redesigning and updating my site at the moment. While working on the portfolio pages I noticed this picture wasn't really to my liking. So I tweaked it a bit.
It's from a comic I never finished,
...nor ever will probably.

(yeah I know: lazy)

half a sketch

Something I'm working on, which you won't get to see yet.

photos

I added a bunch of pictures to my flickr account, go have a look.
Also included are pictures of my friend and fellow illustrator Heina's wedding last friday.

Sketcharoonees!

I've been sort of on and off busy with the project they gave me that award for (what award? you know, the one paid for by Hema-merchandise). Mostly I've been sketching and writing. Jotting down ideas. Thinking of stories. It's turning into a bit of a stew. Things go in, ideas from weeks ago suddenly float the top again slightly changed. I'm having fun with it so far. So I thought I'd put up some stuff. This is all from one story. It's going to serve as something of an introduction. It's not finished, because I'm still brooding on how to colour it in, but here ya go.

Motel Mozaique

Last year I was at the music festival Motel Mozaique for professional purposes,
this year however I went there because there was good music.
From the wonderful and oh-so american Alela Diane for example.

I shot a video myself, but I've yet to upload it.
So this will have to do until then.
I also saw Devotchka, who were fun in their rag-tag Mexican Balkan gypsy-way.
And we just managed to catch the tail-end of the concert by Mariee Sioux, who also sang at her friend's Alela Diane's concert. And she's cut from the same folksy cloth, but rather more surreal. There are wolves in her songs and trees and roots.

creepy corridors and icky interiors

The Nrc-handelsblad asked me to illustrate an article about the interiors of haunted houses. A wonderful subject, and one I could do lots of things with. Instead of going the easy route, I didn't draw any rooms or dark corridors filled with ominous shapes, I made a few miniatures. And used pictures of those to make something else altogether.
I'll post the final result later.

One of those times it's really handy to have a blog

This is the original version of an illustration to a short story by Daniel Dee that will be printed in the next issue of the Zone 5300. Only they asked me to make a black and white drawing, which they got, but just because it felt right this is the drawing I had in mind.

As there are those among you readers of this blog to whom Dutch is no more than seemingly incoherent banging on the keyboard, I thought I'd put up a post in the lingua franca of the interweb. Which concurrently is in all probability the mothertongue of you non-dutchies.
Anyhoo, as Ned Ryerson would say, I am right now staying in France, for those who aren't in the know (you are now, and doesn't that make you feel special?)
Without coincidence I am in fact staying at the same place as I was last summer. To be precise that is the southernmost bit hillyness of Normandy known as Ceton.
A lovely spot, very pleasing to the eye and all that.
It's therefore not surprising that I've done a fair amount of drawing here, I've even twice posted such drawings.
you may like to see them here: http://nietveelsoeps.blogspot.com/2007/02/perhaps-slightly-mundane.html and here: http://nietveelsoeps.blogspot.com/2006/09/even-valsspelen.html

So far this year I haven't anything to show for you yet, seeing as my days are spent minding my little charges. But I did find something I scanned last time I made use of this old 'ordinateur'.


Well it's getting late, the twilit sky is growing hazy, and I feel like curling up with my P.G. Wodehouse (Summer Lightning),
when I have made something fresh and brilliant, you'll be the first to know.

Henkelman once more

Ik geloof dat we bijna klaar zijn.

Henkelmannetje, ons Henkelmannetje

Met de nadruk op ons.
Zoals sommigen van jullie al weten werk ik op het moment met Heina, Henriëtte en Eefke aan een heel erg leuk project. Namelijk de toneelbewerking van het boek Henkelmannetje, ons Henkelmannetje, van en onder leiding van Harriët Van Reek.

Hier een klein fotoverslag van de werkzaamheden van de afgelopen paar dagen.