New Beer at Solaes!

A new Flakkees beer is available at the Solaes Brewery. Suukerpunch, what kind of translates to Suikerpunch in Dutch and Sugarpunch in English. The Brewery asked me to design a label for a Caramel Shortcake based beer and that was not an easy task at first. I did not have any clue where to start with that. Just a piece of cake would be boring and too easy. But after thinking about it for quite some time and many pages of sketches I figured that I was making it too hard for myself. It is about sugar and it is a heavy beer. That is where it all started...

This little sketch was the one where it all started with. An angry sugar beet ready to fight. Because why not? these sugar beets grow over here and I thought it would be funny as hell to see some one pull one of these assholes out of the ground.

The character was made with pen and ink and after that I did the colors with watercolor paint.

This was the first one. I thought this would be awesome to see at the label. But it did not work out at all. It would not fit well on the label, he was a bit too "street fighter" and composition wise it was not the best thing ever. But failing and being a your own worst critic is not always the worst thing ever. That is why I made a new design based on this one.

He could have been more angry and scary. A super angry strong sugar beet was even more funny in my opinion. That is why I drew some facial expressions to make it a funny and angry face. I had the angry voice of the Red Gobbler from Solar Opposites in my mind while drawing this one.

After that I was ready for the design fase. I've kept the colors of the first design because I liked the pale dirty look from the guy living underground. This time it did fit perfectly in the circle of the label. I designed this template with one of the best designers I know, Meijk van Nimwegen from Not a Number so I have some rules to keep myself coloring within the lines. Without his skills I would just be smashing typography and hellfire all over the place.

Anyhow, it was awesome and here is the final result.

I changed some of the colors of the label to compliment the illustration and give it a bit more peace in the design. It also has a bit more of a reference to the caramel shortcake. the brown and orange works well with the greens. So yes, I am happy with the result and I don't know how it tastes because I don't consume alcohol anymore but the response of other beer lovers was great!

Painting and other horrors

Let's start with a post about Pathos Gallery. This gallery is for the weird and bizarre. A new wave of surreal artwork. I am proud to announce that I am represented by this gallery since this year (2021). The gallery owner motivated me to pick up the brush and start painting and so I did.

Title: Zeug

The painting above is called Zeug (sold). The theme of this piece is the cardinal sin of greed. I don't know anything about the art world and who is buying and selling art so I am glad Pathos is helping me out with this. This shows us that it is super important to find someone who you can trust and understands your art and knows how to reach your audience.

I found a place where my art gets the attention it deserves.

A beautiful confusion in which thoughts become disjointed

This one has a bit of a long name. ¨A beautiful confusion in which thoughts become disjointed". Where the first painting just had a very short name in Dutch this one is for the world we live in as a whole. I figured that the title of a painting could add something to it's story. Some artists don't give any titles to their artwork because that would guide the viewer too much. Well I do want to play with the title. "A Beautiful Confusion in which thoughts become disjointed" forces you to think about it. It is just like the title of a movie/film or the title of a song or music album. This challenges you to discover what the painting is all about.

There where I paint

This is where I paint. This third painting is all about me. The head that overflows, being a part of this world while the world is breaking down every single part of everything. This piece is about the mental state I am in so now and then. Autism is not a funny thing and not something that makes people have super powers. It is trying to move through this world while the rules are not made for you. But on the other hand, I am able to create and see things in a way others don't. That gives me the possibility to create illustrations and paintings in a way that is close to me and something new. And oh-boy, we need something new in this world.

Don't be afraid of the paintings I am going to create. Try to read them from your own perspective. I don't want you to seek for what I wanted to tell and show you. I want you to seek your own story within these paintings. Art should not only be here to please the eye. It should kick you in the nuts so you start thinking. Every time someone stands before a painting and does something with it in his or her head the painting is finished.

Picking up the brush

Here we go again. Most of you will know me from my detailed drawings for beer labels, posters, backdrops and other things. Some of you will know me from my woodblock prints. But paintings are not something I used to do. I am not a painting artist and a free spirit with comments on society and ideas about life and how to improve the world. A teacher at art school once told me that an artist should have a positive message to the world or something people can relate to. Also, I don't like art culture in general.

But then I've got medication for anxiety and found a bit more peace in my day to day life. Yes, My day to day life, not my artwork. So let me show you what I started on a big piece of wood.

It is a work in progress. Many, many more creatures will be added. A view from Hell. A pig mask on the whore who keeps the souls from burning while the fox with a torch bound at his tail keeps the fire going. Souls who are eating the feces from fake heroes and Holy figures to be close as possible to them. Music is screaming the worst things for the Bosch Owl (the Devil). The whore is pouring the false Cornucopia, filled with rotting flesh. Much more will be added. Don't believe the false heroes and keep your eyes open for betrayal. Greed and an easy life is not what makes our lives pretty. So, do I have an idea of what to tell people after all? Maybe. But this is more of a thing that keeps me busy and I am telling my idea with symbolism I know and developed. Most of you will not be able to read everything and that is okay. Outsider artists do not tell their stories to be read or liked by others either. They tell their stories in a visual way because it is stuck in their heads and it needs to be put on something.

The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke by Richard Dadd is not painted to be liked or understood by others. But it is a huge inspiration to me. He was a troubled soul but a great painter. You can feel his paranoid ideas, confusion and chaos and I can only think about how he was working on this painting. Taking the feelings or ideas of that moment and putting it in this piece. Tomorrow he could work on another part and add something new because there was something else that kept him busy. There is a lot he had to tell in this work of art but I know he did not paint it for others. And that is what is happening on my big piece of wood. Find a place for the story, idea or feeling and put it there. Maybe it is not beautiful or something you would like in your living room. But that is not why it is going to be finished one day anyway.