Behind the Page

Art update

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:14:00 +0000

So, judging by the new comments I've recently received, there might be some new people looking at my blog. And they've requested more art. I've done some art recently, but there arent celebrity portraits. Oh except Zac Efron.

So...

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:40:00 +0000

I often wonder if blogs can survive on irregular posts that seem to focus on a person's life rather than an informational topic. That said, I do plan on discussing informational subjects as that is kind of my thing. I like research and I like to give my opinions, and all that.

Today though, there is just going to be an update on me, because I realise that I haven't written anything on here in over two months. Tomorrow I'm off to the hospital to get surgery on my left hand. This is actually the second time I'm going in, because the first time, about two weeks ago, I got sent home because of a couple of cases of flu had been determined amongst the anaesthesiologists. I do appreciate the hospital's care about flu, of course, but at the time I felt pretty pissed.

So, see you all later.

Calling All Artists! Graphic Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Sometimes, as an artist, you want to do certain things, but you realise they are possibly too big for you to do all by yourself. Today is one of those times for me. Or really, the last couple of weeks have been like that.

I want to start an online graphic novel, but I realise that this project is too big for me to take on by myself. I have some very basic ideas for it storywise, but nothing is set, yet.

I was wondering if there are any of you who want to take on a (relatively) non-profit project like this one. I'd need help on storywriting as well as the art.

Though I think it's best that there is only one person who draws the lineart and only one that paints, for consistency reasons, there can of course be multiple storywriters, or people working on concept art, etc.

This could be a very nice collaborative project. I am a wishful thinker, and insanely proud of that. Without wishful thinking there would be no dreams.

The concept that I am thinking about, is fantasy, and something steampunk-esque. A title I've come up with is THE KEYMAKER.

Strike your fancy?

Let me know if you want to be involved in anyway, and spread the word!

Drew Seeley Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:00:00 +0000

So I've done another painting. This time of Canadian actor/singer/dancer Drew Seeley who currently plays Prince Eric on Broadway's The Little Mermaid, but was previously in a movie (chick/dance flick) called Another Cinderella Story and has toured with the cast of High School Musical on tour as Troy Bolton.

I was really just inspired by the absolutely genuine way he interacts with his fans. It should be an example to many.

I have sent him a message on his myspace, but have little hope for him seeing it there, so Drew, if you ever for whatever reason Google yourself, thanks for inspiring!

James Dean Speedpainting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:16:00 +0000

I feel strangely out of place doing anything creative nowadays. Pretty much since my graduation, I feel like I have to find myself again. Personally and professionally. It's like having to find my place all over again, while I was hoping that my education would have placed me somewhere by the time I finished. Maybe I'm not finished learning yet.

Anyway, even though I haven't been feeling my usual self and haven't been entirely at my creative best, doesn't mean I've been sitting around not drawing. In fact I was looking for 1950-60s pinup art to practise my anatomy skills. I ended up looking at actresses and actors from that time period and then decided I needed to draw James Dean.

So, today, I did a three hour speedpainting in greyscale. I couldn't be bothered with his hair much though.

UK Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:49:00 +0000

For those of you who've been wondering where I've been, I've been on holiday to the UK for a total of nine days. I flew into Manchester Airport on Thursday last week, where I was met by my friend Steve who lives about 20 minutes from the airport in a town called Wilmslow. Wilmslow is a characteristic town in which you find a lot of BMWs, because the general population is quite well off. A lot of famous football players inhabit this town and the neighbouring town called Alderly Edge. Both towns belong to the county Cheshire. Nice and green.

Anyway, on the Friday we (the friend I was on holiday with and I, Steve was working) went into Wilmslow and did some general grocery shopping, so we could make Steve dinner later that night. It's about the least you can do if said person lets you stay in their house for nine days, no charge.

The weekend was spent in a themepark called Alton Towers. I haven't been on many rides because I'm not a big fan of rollercoasters, the G-forces are just not for me. Still, it was a nice weekend with some adventures and a ridiculously bad film on the Saturday night. Don't ever watch The Guardian (unless you're into predictable, sappy stories).

On Monday we went to a city called Chester. Here we visited my friend Tobias, who showed us around the historical city. He told us that Chester is only a city because of the Cathedral. It's a Roman city. You can see the influences clearly in the buildings, most of which seem to have been preserved pretty well. After seeing the sights and having lunch, we went to meet his friends who lived in very typical student accommodation and were on the brink of moving elsewhere. It was a comfortable mess in their place. There we met their lovely snakes and then went to a reptile shop in the neighbouring town called Blacon. Here we saw awesome poisonous frogs, but we were really there (well, Tobias' friends were) to inform about geckos. Once back we hung out at their house again and then (sad) we caught the train back to Wilmslow.

Tuesday was spent in Manchester, shopping gifts for Steve. I bought a Last Shadow Puppets CD for myself, and we met Steve for lunch. The evening was spent watching a good film (No Country For Old Men).

Wednesday we went into London. We came into Euston Station, and grabbed a bus (cheap!) to Victoria Station, which took a long time. From there, we walked to Westminster Abbey. Didn't go in, though, because it was as busy as I've ever seen it (I've been to London four times). We spent the rest of the day just walking around London, instead of going into anything, because we knew we had to get back in time and that that meant loads of time would have to be spent on public transport. Interesting things happened when we got back to Euston Station, because we were invited to sit in first class. This meant free drinks and dinner. Haha.

Thursday I stayed in and my friend went to explore the Peaks. I watched two films (Rockstar and Pulp Fiction) and cleaned up around the house and did loads of napping.

Friday we spent in again, and we baked a Chocolate Swirl Cake, made chocolate and strawberry smoothies and went to the pictures at night to see Harry Potter 6 (second time for me).

Saturday we went into Wilmslow and then hoooommmeee! I was both sad and happy about that.

In other words, I'm back.

Graduation Ceremony/Dinner Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:53:00 +0000

Come on, you know you want some ;)

Me and my fans!

My aunt and my mom

Me having a drink

After the ceremony

More photos can be found at my Flickr page.

6 Reasons to Hire a Physically Disabled Person

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:37:00 +0000

As an employer, you might find yourself faced with the reality of thinking about hiring a physically disabled person. You think, if I could hire someone with the same skills, but without handicap, why should I pick the disabled person? I will give you six good reasons to do so, in no particular order.

Financially beneficial. In most countries, the government offers a substantial amount of discounts and bonuses to employers who take on a disabled person. The government will also pay the disabled person's wages, should the person fall ill, or should they be unable to perform their tasks due to their disability.
Motivation. It is very often the case that disabled people are highly motivated. They have worked hard to get where they are and have a tendency to want to preform well.
Skill. People with disabilities are often very good at what they do. Because of the physical limitations they have had in their lives, they very often focus on something they are really good at.
Practicality. Disabled people often find very practical ways of doing their job, making them very structured.
Efficiency. One of the biggest issues is that disabled people are believed to work slower than your average employee. True is some cases, false in others. Either way, most people with disabilities are aware of this and will find ways to be as efficient as possible.
Image. Hiring a disabled person makes your company look really good. There's no getting around it and it's not sad.

Convinced? Good. Now please hire me.

Harry Potter Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Blood Red Shoes Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:56:00 +0000

Finally, after months and months, It's done. Portrait of a band called Blood Red Shoes. Done as a commission.

Friends of Glass Update

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:45:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since I updated you guys on my progress in the Friends of Glass project. For those of you that are new to my blog or have simply forgotten:

Friends of Glass is a project that hopes to raise awareness towards the environmental profits of recycling, you guessed it, glass. In this project, several people have been chosen to broadcast ther ideas on the subject, and I happen to be one of them.

Now, in the past, I've not been very actively involved. This mainly comes down to me having to graduate, and not finding time to devote myself to the cause. Now that I've graduated, least I can do is promote the project's latest venture:

Friends of glass is trying to recycle enough bottles to (hypothetically) light up London for five minutes. Every country involves in this project (there are quite a lot), is reporting their progress via Twitter. To read more on how to partcipate, read the official blogpost.

Why should I help, I hear you thinking. You might feel rather indifferent toward nature. You might not be an environmentalist. God knows I'm not. The reason I still promote the cause is because there are very clear result and because recycling glass, lets face it, is easy!

All you have to do, is instead of throwing your bottles into your trash, deposit them. Depositing is easy, most of the time you can find a glass deposit right next to your local supermarket. You don't even have to make an extra trip for it. Not to mentioned the things you can do with bottles to brighten up your home. Bottles make great vases. Jars are very good for storage, you can paint them up all nicely. In other words, with a little creativity (I know you have it), recycling glass is fun!

Oh, Hank is also sending an S.O.S. to the world (Sorry to steal your line, Mr. Sting, Sir):

I am graduated!

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:05:00 +0000

It took me a while to realise that there are people who read my blog that I don't talk to on a regular basis, if at all. A bit unfair of me then maybe, to ommit something good from my blog.

On Monday the 22nd of June, I got the happy message that I am entitled to my diploma. Four years of Communication and Multimedia Design have gone by in a flash. It was alltogether a nice time of learning, having fun and exploring the bounderies of my vivid imagination. I've not got my precious piece of paper yet, but I promise you photographs when I do get it.

That said, ending one chapter of my life leaves room for starting the next. I have big dreams, but I'm taking it one step at the time. At the moment, this means finishing on outstanding commissions and tying up loose ends. Like my personal website. As a soon to be young professional, I need some form of establishment on the WWW other than blogs and art galleries. I'm designing, something simple for the time being, because I want to be able to properly build it myself.

Other exciting things, like finding a job, are high on the agenda. I've updated my resume, and well soon provide my website with an international version. If you think you want to offer me a job, let me know.

So, on my wish/to-do list:

Build my website
Finish outstanding commisssions
Write my book
Go job hunting
Start my own business

I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of it right now. Future, here I come.

Disney Ariel Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:15:00 +0000

Self Portrait quickie

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Book of Dreams portrait: Noah (coloured)

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:31:00 +0000

Book of Dreams portrait: Noah

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:04:00 +0000

Keira Knightley Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:36:00 +0000

A quick digital painting of British actress Keira Knightley. Done as an inbetween of commissions and my internship. Took me about five hours to paint in Adobe Photoshop CS3, using my precious Wacom Cintiq.

Artician: Exciting New Art Community

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:09:00 +0000

I very recently received an e-mail invitation to join a new community called Artician. Well, it just so happens that I am interested in art and in communities, so there you go.

Artician seems to implement everything we already know, allowing you to load feeds for your blog, and also allowing you to import your portfolio from an already successful community, DeviantArt. You can comment, fave, follow, tag, all the stuff we love.

Artician brings it all together is a really really clear design, very appealing to the eye. So obviously, I'm excited.

Watch and befriend me at http://fayestardust.artician.com/.

Sketch Dump

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:08:00 +0000

Just a couple of sketches for your entertainment.

Wacom Bring Your Vision To Life

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:43:00 +0000

This is my entry to the Wacom Bring Your Vision To Life contest. The theme for this contest is Good vs. Evil.

I chose to work roughly, feeling that the concept which I will further explain a little bit down, is more strongly executed that way.

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My take on it is that creation is good and destruction is evil, but it often goes together. What better good is there than creating something?

Creation through means of a paintbrush is the ultimate 'good' for me. Creativity is my world. I look at everything in life differently ever since I started painting. I see more colours, more light, more sunshine. More hues, more shades.

Evil is when someone tries to take it away from me. Cuts it into pieces. Stops me from being creative. Literally destroys my world.

Without art, without creativity, I would be nowhere. Good is something you have to create by your own hand, whatever you do... It has to be you.

This painting depicts who I am in a way. It's a little ironic, since I have hardly any function in my left hand. It's the only thing that blocks my creativity, it's my scissors.

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If you like this picture I would ask you to support it and leave a comment. This piece is very close to my heart. It depicts who I am. Please don't flame me on it.... If you have a DeviantArt account, please support it here.

Lots of love...

Omegle: Anonymity, Good or Bad?

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:02:00 +0000

With today's countless instant messenger applications, conversation with friends is no longer limited to meeting face to face. Ok, it hasn't been for a long time. Location based services, status applications and communities, we all connect and share information on the WWW. Information that would, years ago, have been considered private information. But yes, to meet someone we might like, we want to know certain information about them, so we can find people with similar interests.

But whatever happened to that random meeting on the street, or in a bar, where we just happen to find a topic to share with someone? Not much of a going-out-and-meeting-someone person? Well, we no longer have to be. Omegle seems to have brought the charm of random encounters to the net. It's like a chatbox, but without having to sign up, pick a nickname, or find a conversational partner. Omegle is a service that lets you be completely anonymous, and sets you up with a random another anonymous person, then letting you decide what to talk about and what information to withhold or give out.

The least demanding chat service so far? Or is its anonymity a curse rather than a blessing?

Blood Red Shoes painting and other

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:13:00 +0000

The first is a work in progress of a commission you've seen floating around before and the bottom picture is random rough colour practice.

Realistic vs. Vector?

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:14:00 +0000

So, I'm working on a digital painting and started out with vector art and then went on doing realistic art, so now I'm thinking about turning this version into a completely realistic one and doing the same one as a complete vector. I've never done vector art realistically though, so some tips and tricks are welcome if you have any. I'm using the Pen-tool in Photoshop. Obviously this painting is not done yet. It's Alexis Bledel, by the way.

Belle Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:35:00 +0000

Forgot to post this, too.

Blood Red Shoes painting

noreply@blogger.com (Maartje van Hoorn) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:39:00 +0000

I'll eventually finish this! It's a commission and it's been taking forever!