Old work: The Bloodless
A picture book I drew as a young man around 2000 and self-published in a run of 4 copies a few years later. I couldn't find a publisher for this surreal, bleak tale about - I guess - the blurring of the lines between capitalism and socialism in our times. It did end up as a short story in the anthology Wat Fred niet wist (2004).
The story shares some themes with the movie Goodbye Lenin (2003), as was
pointed out by people when the story appeared in 2004. My protagonist and his mother haven't left their appartment since the Berlin wall fell and fill their days by reading old communist newspapers and him dressing up as his father. I guess the feeling of 'ostalgia' was in the air then.
I was immodestly and foolishly under the spell of people like Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Joseph Lada, Picasso and obviously Frans Masereel. I was living in Peshawar, Pakistan when I made this as my girlfriend Tessa worked with Afghan refugees there. I remember bringing the art along on a long trip we did in Pakistan and India and me drawing further panels in the night trains we took. I got the idea for the drawing above at an art show in a church in Goa that warned against the abuse of alcohol. I'd like to see that Goan picture again sometime.
Paul Verhoeven
A new cover for film magazine Schokkend Nieuws. A portrait of our favorite Dutch director.
Some old work: Cloud, Castle, Lake
Some drawings from my first attempt at a long story, done while still studying at the art academy in Rotterdam in 1995 or 1996. Done as an exercise as of course I didn't have any permission to rework this Nabokov tale. It is interesting for me to see again today as I realize I've been somewhat consistent in my foolish artistic ambitions. I was mainly reading Moebius, Richard Corben, old Creepy's and Eerie's at the time (and I still do) but for my own work I choose to get entangled in my love for literature.
I drew the 15 pages with reed pen and Indian ink. It appeared photocopied in the amateur comic magazine Incognito and that was that!
Leslie
A creature I've called Leslie. I drew the thing using the Balinese mask I found at the thrift a few months ago. Illustration for filmmagazine Schokkend Nieuws for a program with Indonesian horror movies at the Imagine filmfestival 2021.
The endband - Spaans Rood
The best part of making a book: choosing the endband. When I finally receive the samples to choose from, at the end of the production process, I know the book is really finished!
Two pages from Spaans Rood
I've finished my new book, Spaans Rood (Spanish Red) and it is due in November (in The Netherlands and Belgium). Stay tuned!
Jungle River Boat - new exotica mix
I've been a long time collector of exotica records. Here are forgotten and obscure tracks in a mix I did inspired by Love in times of cholera.
Recorded from 78rpm
dennis farnon - a casual affair/don banks - revolutionary research 1/frank rothman - jazz mysterioso/steve race - sioux night ride/don banks - revolutionary research 3/eric delaney - midnight melancholy/dennis farnon - the last voyage/don banks - fear/russ garcia - border trouble/library 78 - african rhythm 1 and 2/nino nardini - melody tropicale/e. sendel - astronautics/Horst Jankowski - haunting melody/library 78 - mallets/dennis farnon - in piper's wood/ralph dollimore - toady/don banks - revolutionary research 2/Ivor Slaney - carrasco/nino nardini - laguna beach/sam fonteyn - design for mambo/Ivor Slaney - jungle flute/don banks - revolutionary research 4/dennis farnon - monday's child/J. Scott - percussion abstraction/wolf droysen - uneasy dream/J. Scott - percussion fast-ride/gert wilden - belly dance/don banks - revolutionary research 5/freddie philips - el souk
Recorded from 78rpm
dennis farnon - a casual affair/don banks - revolutionary research 1/frank rothman - jazz mysterioso/steve race - sioux night ride/don banks - revolutionary research 3/eric delaney - midnight melancholy/dennis farnon - the last voyage/don banks - fear/russ garcia - border trouble/library 78 - african rhythm 1 and 2/nino nardini - melody tropicale/e. sendel - astronautics/Horst Jankowski - haunting melody/library 78 - mallets/dennis farnon - in piper's wood/ralph dollimore - toady/don banks - revolutionary research 2/Ivor Slaney - carrasco/nino nardini - laguna beach/sam fonteyn - design for mambo/Ivor Slaney - jungle flute/don banks - revolutionary research 4/dennis farnon - monday's child/J. Scott - percussion abstraction/wolf droysen - uneasy dream/J. Scott - percussion fast-ride/gert wilden - belly dance/don banks - revolutionary research 5/freddie philips - el souk
The Smuggler: a few influences #3
Zdeněk Burian
If Zdeněk Burian (1905 - 1981, Czechoslovakia) had worked in the comics industry, he would have undoubtedly been employed in the cover-department. Of course Burian did loads of filler illustrations in pen for the books he illustrated, but these are forgettable when compared to the covers and splash pages he did in color or in greys. I think Richard Corben is the only comic artist I know who could do a whole comic book rendered like a cover.
Here I talked about the Octobriana hoax of 1971, how Burian (and others) became a victim in this Cold War drama and how I used this historical event for my book De Smokkelaar (The smuggler). I dedicated the book to Burian because of how he inspired me when I was a child and because of how heroically he dedicated his life to illustration and how injustly he was treated because of his works inclusion in the hoax. He's the kind of artist you'd better not try to imitate but I can point out a few things I tried to at least incorporate.
Probably Burians style is best recognized by how his image is build up quite watery and misty. Some of it is as confidently splashed on watery paper as caligraphy from the Far East. The details were then added by applying light on parts and shading. Not only direct light, but all kinds of reflections and dilluted lights. Add to this vividness his sense of drama and the level becomes unreachable for most artists, so trying would be foolish.
In my book De Smokkelaar there are, luckily, quite a few underwater scenes where I could ommit the heavy contours typical for the rest of the book. This allowed for a bit of direct influence.
Burian illustrated classic science fction authors and early 'pulps' and some of his most enigmatic work was for Czech editions of Jules Verne books. His 20.000 leagues underwater is a book one could marvel at for hours on end.
In my book unfortunatetly there are no giant squids. In an earlier illustration for filmmagazine Schokkend Nieuws I did use these creatures.
In passing, there is a little reference to the many books Burian illustrated by the German writer Karl May. Karl May was very popular among Czechs (here the cover is in Hungarian, made by professor Kalman, a character I based loosely on Burian). When holidaying in Czechoslovakia in the 70s and 80s we always wondered at the amount of Wild West themed holiday parks and the amount of Czech country music on the radio. Burians influence was felt throughout.
Of course Burians best known work is of the prehistoric world. His work is scientific and heavily researched. What strikes you when you see his portraits of Neanderthals and Australopithecusses, is the kindness Burian added to their features. The one caveman-like portrait I did for De Smokkelaar, a cover for the ficticious Z.O.L.T.A.N. comic that features in it, doesn't have this quality I'm afraid.
This kindness extends to the Tarzan illustrations Burian did.
In conclusion, here's one of Burians most lurid illustrations, done for a Robinson Crusoe edition. You'd have to see it printed on paper to fully appreciate it, but still. And another very enigmatic one for the Verne book, in which you can clearly see how much Richard Corben was influenced by him.
And a feeble attempt of mine to do something just a little similar for the comic within a comic in De Smokkelaar.
The Smuggler: a few influences #2
The Octobriana-hoax
One saturday morning, sorry to say it was actually misty and damp, I walked along the canals of Delft. A bookseller was setting up his stall and my eye fell on the odd book Octobriana and the Russian Underground from 1971.
This book contains a very elaborate hoax pretending to be a collection of subversive comics made by secret artist-cells from all over the Soviet Union. The book has been forgotten and rediscovered many times. Reaching notoriority inbetween. Countless people before me bought it, believed the incredible story for a few pages, only to get a creeping hunch it couldn't possibly be true. Especially if you happen to be familiar with the styles of the Czech artists Bohumil Konečný and Zdeněk Burian, who's work was ripped off, stolen, altered and butchered for this strange publication. The red communist star was painted on randomly and subversive texts were added.
The perpetrator, one Petr Sadecký, a Czech deflector, turned out to be a childhood admirer of these Czech artists. He had stolen their work and abused it to find fame himself with the Octobriana hoax and discredit and corrupt the communist party in his home country at the same time.
Those who read my book De Smokkelaar (The Smuggler) will notice that I took this strange Cold War episode as the basis of the story, but I altered and skewed it to my liking.
Sadecký's story becomes evermore unbelievable as you progress
through his book full of forgeries. To add some authenticity he staged photo's of the
alleged Soviet underground, sometimes featuring himself among the
renegate artists.
Back home, the signature styles of Konečný and Burian were quickly recognized and the two were persecuted.
Luckily Octobriana is now just a footnote in Zdeněk Burians biography and he is rightly remembered and celebrated as one of the biggest illustrators of the previous century. His influence is apparent in so many illustrators and comic artists who came after him. Richard Corben is a confessed fan and Frank Frazetta evidently looked at Burians work. In me and my brother, Burians work brought to life the earliest urge to draw when perusing his books our Czech mother Vera owned.
I'll write a bit about my passion for Burians work soon.
One saturday morning, sorry to say it was actually misty and damp, I walked along the canals of Delft. A bookseller was setting up his stall and my eye fell on the odd book Octobriana and the Russian Underground from 1971.
The perpetrator, one Petr Sadecký, a Czech deflector, turned out to be a childhood admirer of these Czech artists. He had stolen their work and abused it to find fame himself with the Octobriana hoax and discredit and corrupt the communist party in his home country at the same time.
Those who read my book De Smokkelaar (The Smuggler) will notice that I took this strange Cold War episode as the basis of the story, but I altered and skewed it to my liking.
Luckily Octobriana is now just a footnote in Zdeněk Burians biography and he is rightly remembered and celebrated as one of the biggest illustrators of the previous century. His influence is apparent in so many illustrators and comic artists who came after him. Richard Corben is a confessed fan and Frank Frazetta evidently looked at Burians work. In me and my brother, Burians work brought to life the earliest urge to draw when perusing his books our Czech mother Vera owned.
I'll write a bit about my passion for Burians work soon.
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