Newsletter

Oopsy daisy, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I sort of had a newsletter planned for last month, but someway it has fallen through. About time so to catch up with you again. Firstly: I truly hope you’ve been doing well. The world isn’t much of a kind place at this moment and what has been going on has been playing on the minds of many, including myself. It makes this newsletter with all these insignificant ramblings look a bit silly, yet I very much hope it might take your mind of things for just a bit. Just as it does for me as I’m typing these words.

Handmade sketchbook

One of my favourite things I made last month is this little sketchbook. As per coincidence I found the lovely Margaux Kent of Peg and Awl on Instagram and quickly decided to give her bookbinding tutorial a try. I used my favourite paper, Arches 300 grams hot-pressed, some thread, a needlefelting needle and a small strip of linnen fabric. The easy to follow tutorial quickly taught me how calming bookbinding really is. It honestly made me question why I’d ever get a store-bought sketchbook ever again, if I can make one out of my favourite paper myself? The little book I made surely isn’t perfect, but I absolutely love the way it looks. Surely give it a try, if you’ve got some spare time to spend.

Gentle eyes

Another something I’ve been focussing on in February is drawing horses. Not the tiny kind on sticks, but actual ponies. In my life I’ve drawn plenty: I’ve literally drawn more horses than I have anything else. With those years, I’m pretty sure I’ve found my own way of reflecting them, yet I’m always tweaking tiny characterising elements such as the ears, eyes and nostrils. As ponies will be represented in my children’s book too, I decided it’s the right moment in time now to really pinpoint what I’d like my ponies to look.

In contrast to the stick horses, I wanted the eyes to look a little more soft and gentle. I tried different shapes, as well as I did for the nose and the mane. It’s pretty much the ears that I’m not too sure about just yet, although I’ve slowly started to settle on those too. I’m sure in March I’d like to continue this quest and get just that little bit closer to bringing the book to completion.

Prints

February also marked the moment I opened up my very own shop here on my website. It didn’t only require me to set up the shop, but also tweak some things here and there and request an upgrade to Miezepluis’ web address. It’s such a nice thing to have this little shop set up and it’s been great to share the prints of my favourite illustrations (and soon-to-be book) with you. There’s still a few numbered prints left for you to shop, which you’re welcome to have a look at here.

Oils

Another something I’d very like to do in March is getting my oil paints out again. Funnily enough painting with oils to me feels like a summery thing to do. I’m not doing too well with the strong scent of oil paint and only really like using them when I get to work next to an open window. As the sun has been out quite a bit these last couple of days, it made me eager to work with oils again. There’s a couple of ideas I’d like to work on, which pretty much includes horses again, hehe. I’ve got some small canvas boards left, which I think would make perfect backdrops for small, easy horsey portraits. Anyway, whatever I come up with I’ll make sure to share with you on here and on Instagram!

And that’s pretty much all for this small newsletter. There isn’t that much for me to share with you, but I hope you enjoyed this quick little update. I’d very much like to let you know I appreciate your endless support greatly: it’s lovely to be surrounded by such lovely people. I truly wish for you to stay safe and try your best to see the beautiful things in life, even when they seem harder to find than they did before.

Happy New Year, my dearest readers! Are you excited for the new year to begin? I hope you’ve been doing well. Winter has quietly started to settled in here, the past couple of weeks. Riding Mitje has been a challenge with all the mud and rain, but thankfully there hasn’t been any frost on the ground yet – pffeww! Let me tell you what I’ve been up to during the last weeks of 2021!

Publishing a picture book

Well, the most exciting news of November must have been the notion that I’ll be working on publishing my very first picture book. It’s a dream come true, which I still can’t quite comprehend! I plan to publish the book by March 2022 and it will (as you might have guessed) feature… ponies! It’s going to be quite a challenge, as I’ll be writing, illustrating, designing and publishing the book all alone: something I’ve never ever done before.

I’m very familiar with writing stories, I know a thing or two about designing and illustrating, but there’s yet so much to figure out and learn! Here’s a few illustrations and images I took last month whilst working on the book. I promise you to keep you up to date on the progress through these little blog posts and my newsletter too. Subscribing to the newsletter can be done through the little form on the front page of this website.

Library

I’m one of those gals who never ever reads her own work. After the writing is done, I hand it off to the editors and let them do their thing. To be fair: reading isn’t really something I do at all. Listening to music and watching movies on the other hand: I’m all for that! 

Oddly enough I did really enjoy reading when I was younger. I loved going to my local library and choose a little pile of books, which would probably only last me a week. I still hold the books that were gifted to me dearly, yet it had been a while since I last got myself a new book. Things changed this past year, when this idea about writing a picture book really began to settle. I’ve purchased myself some classics (such as Annie M.G. Schmidt’s ‘Pluk van de Petteflet’, which I actually only had a little audio cd of when I was little) and ordered a few picture books of illustrators I admire, such as Claire Bois and Rebecca Green.

And… I got myself a library card! It’s been years since I set foot in a library (apart from the one at university, but hey: no fun picture books there, so that doesn’t really count), but I was eager to go again. Although the location had changed (they’ve got a stunning new building now), I felt like I stepped right back into my childhood memories. I had reserved a few picture books beforehand as I didn’t have a lot of time to stroll, but once I’ve worked my way through the books I took home, I’ll plan some more time to spend between the book isles!

Painting landscapes

One of the things I’ve been enjoying loads, besides picture book preparations, is painting little abstract landscapes! All I’ve been using for these little paintings is a bit of Holbein gouache, Arches paper and a number four flat brush. There’s really no thought going into these, just intuitively putting down blobs of paint. As I normally prefer working with pencil and watercolour which leaves little room for mistakes, making these little landscape are actually quite exciting I find.

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions. Or, as my dad thought me: ‘alleen slechte mee’sen hebben goeie voornemens‘. However, I’ve set myself the task to try and make a little painting or drawing each and every day. Which I do not count as a New Year’s resolution, because I came up with it in November, hehe.

In all seriousness: the piece doesn’t have to be pretty or sharable, it’s really just for me. I find I can be a little prone to loose touch with my creativity, even (or maybe especially) when feeling very much inspired. Painting or drawing something every day, often at the end of the afternoon, really has had its positive effect. Even if it’s just a few wisps of paint put to paper or a quick little sketch of an apple. Sure, creating each and every day is not as easy a task as it sounds, because, well: life gets in the way. But, the thought of having made something that wasn’t there just the morning before, has proven to be such a precious little feel good moment. And I think that’s something we might all need a bit of, especially at this odd moment in time. Maybe this little New Year’s resolution might help you a bit too: I’d love for you to give it a try!