I joined in with the #meettheartist meme going around on Instagram, and even shot a little video of my process. Like a true n00b I shot it vertically (ACK!), but here it is anyway. Ya live and ya learn, I guess. Enjoy!
I've got this thing for doors. Especially brightly colored doors can just make my day. Fortunately for me (but unfortunately for anyone in my company trying to get somewhere quickly), I can't seem to turn a corner here in London without encountering another snap-worthy specimen.
I seriously can't wait to one day own a house with an actual front door to lovingly scrub down and paint. A nice soft green, perhaps?
But London isn't the only city with great door action. Below are some doors from Brooklyn (US), Utrecht (The Netherlands), Safed (Israel), and Brussels (Belgium).
More doors coming to my Instagram feed, I'm sure. Let the obsession flourish.
I would actually never say 'bits and bobs', but in preparation of our move to London I'm trying to catch up on British slang. Obviously, this will most likely turn out to be a disaster in which I say mostly Irish or Australian things in entirely wrong contexts with a terrible faux-British accent (one person actually said my British accent sounded like a drunk American trying to speak French, but hey - I happen to like Americans who at least try to speak French so whatevs, brah) and lose more friends than make them, but failure is the key to success, no?
Anyhow! Here are some bits:
I'M WORKING ON A COOKBOOK with the talented and inspirational Kyra de Vreeze!!!
We're keeping most of it a secret, but it's going to be an e-book, in English, available online starting sometime late September. The book will feature quick, easy, and tasty recipes (99% vegan & gluten free), tons of information on health benefits and nutritional values, plus plenty of essential culinary inspiration. All of the recipes and photography are done by Kyra, who has written three amazing books (two of which I have and use often) on food as finger-licking medicine. I am working on the accompanying illustrations and layout, which means I get to draw food all day! Yay!
I'm also working on a private project - ILLUSTRATING A CHILDREN'S BOOK written by my brother's father-in-law. It's a time consuming process as I am determined to make the backgrounds look amazing and well, that means I spend most of my free time drawing leaves. It's a miracle I still know what those look like. Obviously, they look like multi-colored stripes. We'll first just print copies of the book for ourselves, but if there's demand - who knows!
And now for some bobs!
- Loved this podcast about the history of color. Took me right back to my art history education! Worth a listen.
- Fascinated by Sarah Glidden's blog post on panel process. Glidden (who you may know from her graphic novel How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less or other pieces of graphic journalism) shares her working process with us and it's just amazing. So much thought and attention goes into each frame - it's humbling.
- I thought this post on 5 ways to improve your coloring by Melanie Gillman on Illustration Friday may interest you. Pretty post AND very useful!
So, that's all for today, but fret not - I've also been working on a boatload of new journal pages that I'll share with you soon. (If you wonder why I'm so productive these days, it's because I've developed a cocaine habit, obviously. No, I kid. I'm way too cheap to maintain those kinds of habits. It's vacation, folks, vacation. It's the cocaine of the people who are scared of drugs, haven't you heard?)
Happy weekend, all!
Set du Jet
I try not to complain about traveling lots for work, because to be honest - I love it. Sure, I don't always get to see much of the city I'm in, and I often miss Mr. Floor terribly, but I'm working my dream job, and I've got amazing colleagues who will put up with me dragging them along for a 2 hour walk along the Thames after working hours. I did feed her Indian food afterwards, that helped.
Lines
Married life is amazing. I know people often say getting married didn't change anything for them from when they were dating, but I disagree. Of course, I wouldn't really know, since Mr. Floor and I have been married for much longer than we had been dating before we decided to get married, but still. I feel connected, protected, loved. It feels very special that the one person I care about and admire most in this world, chose to go on this journey with me, and promised me, my family, the state, everyone, that they'd be there for me always -and vice versa. We've entered into a pact together, it's us now, no matter what this crazy adventure will turn out to be. I don't necessarily think getting married is the only way to make that pact, but it's what we did, and it's awesome. It also a great comfort to me when we're both busy with work and traveling, and it makes those shared moments together even sweeter. Like, we're building something here. This month was full of those sweet moments, like when we went to the Kröller-Muller Museum together, biking around the national park, playing in the sculpture garden. Or that day we spent in the sun, sipping coffee, reading books.
Nothing To Do
If you had gone to college with me, and had been so fortunate as to have been invited up to my room, you'd have noticed one thing, immediately: I keep lists. I used to have three big to do lists taped on the inside of my dorm room. One for study tasks, one for 'private' tasks, and one for long term dreams and goals. I was a very serious student and I guess being able to get up from my desk and cross a task of my list made me less anxious, but I don't feel like I'm very serious adult (heh, adult), and I still keep lists, just a lot less visible. Anyhow, we were going on vacation, and I finished every tiny little to do off my list and it felt awesome. You see what I did there? Turned this mundane and slightly OCD event into a story. And that's how blogging is done, y'all. Booyah (do people still say that? Probably not, eh?)!
Prague X Art
I tried to come up with a clever name for this bit, like a combination of the word 'Prague' and 'Art' but all I could come up with was 'Partgue' - but that doesn't mean anything at all, so that'd be weird. But yes, we went to Prague!
Not only is Prague one of the prettiest cities I've personally ever been to, it's also filled to the brim with art. Gorgeous art nouveau buildings everywhere. Mosaics for all. Golden cafés with Mucha illustrated menus and Jugendstil silverware. Pubs filled with dreamlike (or nightmarish) cartoons and graffiti. Large canvasses of naked women and poems for sale in a wine bar (65 kronen for a glass of Moravian red, canvasses: price on request). An Italian restaurant with an eclectic art collection (gifts? friends? family?), where well done copies of seventeenth century vanitas paintings are hung alongside Schiele-esque portraits of the maître, the obligatory painting of a crying gypsy boy, and a well done sketch of the Vlatava and it's many bridges. I drew a lot, photographed a bunch, and a week felt like two weeks.
Did you go anywhere over Easter? Let me know in the comments.
Also - follow me on Instagram here (and I may follow you back!).
Yellow and Green or Black and Blue?
March was a productive month for me (on Instagram, at least). I snapped pictures of pretty much everything from the view from the top of the stairs coming down from the bedroom one morning to my beautifully crafted (really) lunch. Behind those pretty pictures, however, much less romantic stories can be told, as I recently plummeted down those stairs to something that wasn't death, but was definitely painful, and the pretty little lunch box nearly bankrupted me (€15,-? Un-bah-lie-vah-bah!)
It's Alive (for now)!
You know how I am with plants right? Or rather, how plants are with me. I give them all my love and attention, and they die on me. I'm not going to say that this time around that won't happen, but with capable help (Mr. Floor), I am perhaps going to admit that gardening is kind of a lot of fun.
All Play and No Work?
Ha, far from it. Even though you wouldn't say so from my Instagram feed, March was actually kind of stressful. Both Jochem and I were away for work a lot and I think we saw each other a total of 5 days this month. Fortunately, we managed to grab a coffee at Blackbirds in Utrecht this month (very hip and happening), and we got some much needed family time in, because MY BROTHER GOT MARRIED!!! Yay!
The Mothership
For my 30th birthday, I went to hang out at the Mothership, aka Etsy HQ in Brooklyn. Ok, maybe that wasn't the reason, I went there for work, but it still was pretty awesome. My colleagues threw me a smashing party, and I got lots of work done and met colleagues I had previously only seen via Google Hangout. Also, I had about 2 hours to stroll around Brooklyn before heading back, and came by these pretty doors!
And that's all folks! Was your month as busy and colorful as mine?
Let me know in the comments, or follow me on Instagram (and I may follow you back!).
I know, it's been March for a while now, but you know, things.
Rainbows and Reads
I wasn't very active on Instagram in February, mostly because I was too busy traveling and working and felt a little down, for some reason. I feel like February is just one of those months where that inexplicably happens to me. It's probably the lack of sunlight. Also, I read Stoner, which is a beautiful but depressing novel. Fortunately, London welcomed me with a rainbow (and coffee).
Doors & Dusk
Whenever I wasn't traveling, we spent some time exploring our new neighborhood (we found these awesome doors on our way to the supermarket), witnessing some pretty dramatic sunsets.
One More Thing
And then, February turned bright blue and sunny! I walked around Amsterdam some, where our office is located, and started reading a new book (One More Time by B.J. Novak).
Exciting times.
March, so far, has been much brighter and creative. To see what that means, you can follow me on Instagram here.
Mo Move, Mo Moe
January rushed by like my grandma on roller-skates. Faster than you think, but kind of crazy. We came back from Israel, picked up the keys to our new house (exactly a year after we first re-met! Yay!), and started cleaning, painting, and moving. Awesome and exciting, even though in the end, we had so much more stuff (and a lot less money) than we had hoped. All in all the move itself went smoothly, though, thanks to the help of my family.
Unpacking and getting settled took most of the remaining weeks of January, but we've managed to make it feel like 'home'. We're trying (and failing) not to get too attached to the place, as the house is actually for sale, and against all the odds (or, the odds as described by our landlords), there are actually some serious candidates looking at the house. It's kind of nerve-wracking, but there's not much we can do.
Hand Lettering
In between unpacking boxes, I bought a Pentel brush pen and started experimenting with hand lettering. It's much harder than I thought, but it's a very relaxing thing to do. The poem on the left is by a Dutch writer, Martin Bril, and I read it to Jochem on our wedding day, as part of my vows. It's hard to translate, but the sentiment (to me) is the desire to go at it, on adventures, everywhere, together.
The Team in the Broom Closet
Oh, and not only did I move house, at our office, we moved into a new space. My colleague lovingly calls it "our very own piece of broom closet", and although I'd argue that it is a bit bigger than that, we're happy to be in it either way.
Also: Winter in Holland + visitors! My colleague from Germany spent the week with us in cold, windy, Amsterdam, which was awesome. Working remotely is definitely a blessing and a curse, but having people come over (or being in other offices, as I'll do next week - yay travel!) always reminds me how much I love working and being part of a team.
How did the year start off for you?
I love Instagram. Ever since I signed up almost two years ago, it has knocked all other social media apps right off of their dusty little pedestals and has gradually turned me into a food-photographing d-bag. But, seriously, what's not to love? It has great creative potential, it's fun, easy, and if you follow the right people, pictures of food and kitties have replaced vague status updates and duck faced selfies (except for the 'ironic' kind, of course).
This month, as I'm working on my hand lettering skills, I'm loving Annings' Instagram feed to bits. Annings, who outside of Instagramland is called Anna Ignacio, is an artist and designer from Manilla, currently located in Singapore. Her feed is a delicious and bright concatenation of coffee, hand lettered quotes and wisdoms, and breakfast.
Oh, I so love the idea of mornings.
The fact that I have not recently enjoyed any mornings myself where I was both conscious and not in terrible agony, longing for caffeine, doesn't change this. I love the concept of mornings.
Quick links: You can follow Annings on Instagram here & you can find my duck faced selfies and complaints about the weather here.
January has started off with a blast for us - exactly one year after Mr. Floor and I met, we picked up the keys to our new apartment. This weekend and next, we will be painting, packing, scrubbing, and dragging our way into the new place, which we have yet to see by daylight (ah, Dutch winters are so awesome).
But first! An overview of December!
Office Awesome
My colleague and I flew out to London to attend the office Christmas party, which was amazing, especially since my very international team (1 Brit, 1 Kiwi, 1 Turk, 1 Dutchie) won the gingerbread house(boat) competition. Documented here. Booyah.
Fire & Friends
In the days leading up to Christmas, I hung out with friends and family, winding down from the year.
Festive Food
Christmas was full of food (of course) and very relaxed. We don't usually do gifts for Christmas, and not having to do any last minute shopping is... well, not awful. Both our families did a potluck style dinner and we baked a lemon meringue pie and a poached pear tarte tat in (no pics, unfortunately), and one appetizer (on the right). The awesome breakfast bread was made by my sister-in-law, who is pregnant and has started baking her own bread (I'm not saying there's a relation, I'm just saying, you know).
Israel
Right after Christmas, we left for Israel, where we consumed shitloads of humus and pita, where I rekindled my love for Turkish coffee, and generally just had a very relaxing fun time - not in the least thanks to our lovely hosts (two of our friends from college) who proved excellent guides.
Hope you all are happy to be back at work and are looking forward to this new year. I sure am!
Oh em gee, ef em es, it's December.
I can't even believe how fast this year has gone by, it's scary.
So, in order to keep track of time at least a little bit, I decided to do one of those 'Picturing November' posts this time around. I am totally stealing this from my infinitely more talented photographer, artist, designer, super mother and blogger friend Sabra, but I'm sure she doesn't mind.
Fall Came (& Went?)
No comment. It's pretty, yes. But still. No comment.
Breakfast
I really did enjoy my breakfast this month, especially when traveling. Left: breakfast at Cornucopia in Dublin - most amazing vegan food, we ate there three times that week. On the right: breakfast at Bistrot Bruno Loubet in London. Very good croissants (for London), and just the prettiest menus and place mats.
Hair Don't
Then, I decided it was time for a hair cut. I decided wrong. Here's the before & after. I am not a fan. I know everyone else in my tiny universe seems to love it or is kind enough to lie to me, but I am not a fan. Just can't get used to the bangs, man, you know? Ya feel me? I just can't handle it, dude.
Doodling
There was a good amount of doodling this month. Left: my doodle. Right: my husband's more poetic doodle. Oh, just so you know: the man speaks perfect French and then does jokes. In French. Illustrated French jokes. I know. I love him, but I kind of hate him, too ;-).
If this didn't satisfy your appetite, more Instagram pics can be found right over here. Enjoy!
I used to do a photo every year of the sh... I carry around in my bag, but neh. You get a drawing instead.
© Anna Denise Floor
This week, I've been carrying around a screenprinting kit as well, put together by Femke from Windstilte. I took a screenprinting course over at Urlaub this weekend, and it was great big fun (see a small snapshot of my castle scarf here on Instagram).
Why is it still in my bag, you ask? Well, folks. Because I'm a pig. That's why.
Meneertje, by Katie Noonan!
One of my favorite things to do in life is to complain. Ah, a day without the sound of my own voice nagging is like a day without coffee (and we all know that leads to scary, dark things).
So the other day I was whining about how much I miss my cat. I know, right. Tragic. Thing is, when my ex and I broke up, we decided to leave Meneertje (the cat in question) with him in Brussels. The ex has a big apartment, which happens to be the place the cat has lived his entire life, and at the time wasn't sure where I'd go and where I'd be. It seemed like the best thing I could do for the furry beast.
Anyhow, since our current mansion is wonderful but not tremendously spacious, we've decided to hold off on the kitteh-front for now until we know where we'll be next. Look at us being all grown-up and rational and whatnot. Doesn't mean I don't miss the little loudmouth.
Some more cat portraits done by Katie!
To make a long story not much shorter but definitely not any longer: my friend and colleague Katie Noonan, crazy cat lady, self-made illustrator, and world traveler, is doing this wonderful thing where she decided to draw 300 cats on Instagram. And she drew Meneertje for me. Yay! Such a fun idea (and I wish I had come up with it). So, if you're interested in getting your furball set up with an Instagram portrait, make sure to tag her @afternoonan! Also, she sells amazing cat magnets on Etsy.
Be sure to check it out. Katie surely made my day.
'Aha-moments'. I don't really have them very often. I know there are people out there who do. People who have seen that proverbial lightbulb, but not me. For me, realizations come slowly - inklings, ideas, they unfold for me rather than pop up ('slow' is what my brother would say, probably). So when I say that picking up drawing again, was a life changing event for me, I don't mean there was a ray of light hitting me from the skies whilst dramatic music made all the animals in the forest perk up their fuzzy little ears.
When I picked up a pencil again in 2007 it was kind of slow and annoying. My hands wouldn't do what I wanted them to do and it stayed like that for a long time after that first day. They still won't listen to me, always, but taking that first step has changed my life in so many ways. I learned to listen to my passions again, I learned to express myself fearlessly, to find stillness in creating, and remembered what it feels like to be inspired again. But it came slowly and through continuous practice.
Through blogging, my work at Etsy, and the many courses I've taught online and in person, I've tried to help other people pick up a practice of their own. So when the Fantastic Mr. Floor showed me his paintings and drawings a little while back, but also mentioned he hadn't touched an easel in years, I knew I had a mission.
So we bought paint, canvas, brushes, sat down on our living room floor and got going. No singing cherubs to be seen here, but boy, that was fun! And fortunately, when you get sick of staring at your own drawings and paintings, you can always give them away to your parents. They're supposed to love everything you do. Use it.
Extensive studies have proven that this really is the only right way to ever consume raspberries. So glad we cleared that one up.
