Art and Illustration
“There, in the chords and melodies, is everything I want to say.
The words just jolly it along.
It’s always been my way of expressing what for me is inexpressible by any other means.”
– David Bowie
For me, it’s colour and texture
Latest Activities…
Experimenting feelings onto paper
A not-so secret hermit in isolation Dear reader, here's a little word from the art cocoon....a blogpost about laying down feelings through experiments on paper. About how visual journaling helps me process confusing and difficult emotions in this covid-19...
Corona-times tip: inspiration hack and a Wise Tree
Inspiration and hard times We can all do with an inspiration hack at the moment, can't we? It's not easy, feeling inspired with an outerworldly situation going on around you or even very close to you. And yet, worrying doesn't solve anything. As long as you take...
Combat corona stress, start nature journaling with The Little Big World!
How to keep your mind sane in this surreal time? If you're even the least bit like me, I bet the current news and quarantine have raised your stress levels at least a bit. Being kicked out of your daily routine and having to refrain from social contact isn't easy, but...
And some more activity…
Sender? The Universe.
If you've been following me online, you may remember that sometimes the Universe really does deliver. A few weeks ago, two more wishes were spontaneously fulfilled. Sender? The Universe. This year I quit online teaching in order to focus on my own art and writing. It...
Drawing Corona virus concerns away?
Normally, when the whole world goes woowoo over something, I tend to back away and withdraw from the discussion. Usually there's so much debate and sensation that hard news facts are tough to find anyway and so I try not to. But this time with the Corona virus it's...
New work and focus, reorganization and FINAL CALL
March has already come, so it's been two months that I've been focusing solely on new work. Or rather…I've also been reorganizing my studio due to some new arrivals and I've been doing some online updating. You will read all about it here. Shifting Focus for New Work...
Stepping into the Twenties
Stepping into the Twenties When I say 'the Twenties' I'm reminded of "The House of Elliott", the Charleston, Art Deco, sleek and ornate knee-high party dresses and half short hairdos that were flat over the head and then curled back up from the neck to the ears. The...
End of Year
Why my year has been to an end for a while now and two art-supply videos.
The Superstar Generation
The Superstar Generation, ink, charcoal and oil crayon on paper, © Mandy van Goeije, 2019 Some images speak for themselves, so let me not ruin it by writing about it.
How waterproof are my inks?
At the moment I'm completely into waterproof ink because I'm drawing and writing a lot of Tanka. It's something I like to do when I have a lot on my mind. Limiting myself to just a small number of lines, a small number of syllables, forces me to boil my thoughts down...
“Balance”
Storytelling with a message Making art, to me, is visual storytelling. Sometimes it is literally a way of telling a story that already exists. And sometimes it is a way of unearthing a story that lay hidden somewhere in my subconscience, somewhere in my fingers,...
Drawing Table Hack
Photos + Video Slanted worktops save the day. And the Neck! People who draw a lot know that the neck and the shoulders need to be spared. Working on a flat surface inevitably causes problems in the long run. And still all artists know the pain because many of us don't...
Absolutely wonderful new Watercolor Paint: Aquarius
Watercolor face I did with the Aquarius paints, Queen of Hearts The Discovery A little while back I ran into the Jane Blundell's blogpost about Aquarius watercolor paints by Roman Szmal. I had never heard of the brand before - which isn't crazy, for more and more...
What’s on My Desk?
A second blog post in two days?! I must be on a roll again after such a long period of quietude... For today's post I let myself be inspired by my friend Marit Barentsen who takes part in "What's on Your Workdesk". I was a bit tired of working on an illustration...
Storytelling with Comics
Comic(al) Attempts You'll probably know me from my online courses, my art or my visual journals. Those who've been following me for a longer time, may know that I actually also have a thing for drawing comics. A wish, mostly. And I have actually made some comic-style...