today amsterdam

this is a public record of my project with artist Anne Verhoijsen, 'Today Amsterdam'. for this project, I will be interviewing people in Amsterdam about their day. I will also be thinking about what fascinates me and why I like it here. If all goes according to plan, I will post images and text that illustrate my process daily.

[todayamsterdam]

final piece This is the larger piece I've been working on for the past few weeks. It is an acrylic painting done on an old paper map of Amsterdam that Anne gave me at the beginning of my time here. I was afraid to work with the existing map until I experimented with an acrylic medium that makes the paint more transparent. The main blocks of color are based on the pattern of a stained glass window I took a picture of a few weeks ago. Windows have appeared in a lot of what I've been making here and I wanted to emphasize that. Along the top, bottom, and left edges there were originally advertisements for various Amsterdam businesses. I turned the ad blocks into individual vignettes depicting different moments of my trip, for the most part based off of photos I've taken. I am still planning to add an embroidered element that pulls out certain areas on the map, but have yet to locate a needle and thread. The second photo above shows a makeshift example of how the piece looks when backlit. I have not yet decided how it can be best displayed. I am viewing this as the final piece for this project in the sense that it is a culmination, however I may continue to post smaller works until I return home on Friday.

[todayamsterdam]

self-portrait on a piece of the city

I painted this self-portrait on an old shelf someone had put out with the garbage. I was drawn to the blue paper it is/was partially wrapped in.

[todayamsterdam]

Martin

I met Martin two years ago, when he and his partner Ieke generously offered my friend and I a place to stay here in Amsterdam. I stayed at their house for the first half of this trip, too. I interviewed him last week and have finally made something based on our conversation. I have stumbled upon a common theme in these interviews: work. I guess it is an inherent part of daily life, but it's something I hadn't thought too much into before starting this process. Martin has worked in science, as well as politics. We discussed how at this point in his life, he is drawing from both skill sets to help organize two festivals (KETI KOTI and The World Science Festival Amsterdam). We also talked about work ethic, and how people develop discipline at different points in their lives. We had our interview in De Bazel and the art deco tile work got me thinking about pattern. This topic of work has become a pattern, and it's been interesting to hear about people's professional paths as I've been thinking about my own future and the future of this project. I tried my best to represent these ideas in this drawing.

[todayamsterdam]

~exercise~

I was having trouble motivating myself to make things the other day. I had the idea to draw a self portrait on this larger piece I'm working on, and I started by trying it out in my sketchbook. I ended up making many more portraits than I expected. The next day I had so many new ideas, and I at least partially credit this to getting my hand moving and drawing all these self portraits. More work coming soon!

[todayamsterdam]

Rena

Rena owns a shop in Amsterdam. I found her through this website, and met her in hopes of making a contact for Molly. We had a really nice conversation about how working for yourself differs from working for someone else. It really got me thinking about this project and what I want to get out of it. The nice environment of her shop, as well as the items sold there prompted me to consider methods of working that I hadn't tried yet. I decided to attempt a more traditional portrait, which I enjoyed. I don't think I quite pulled off her exact resemblance, though I feel satisfied with the small installation the interview influenced in my workspace. The small illustration is based off items in her shop and I purchased the necklace pictured just after our conversation. The cactus has been on my windowsill in my room and it just felt right. 

[todayamsterdam]

Fleur

This is a drawing based on an evening I spent with Fleur, an artist I met while working for Polderlicht. I interviewed her, too, but this drawing is based on more than that. The original image on this page was the large wine stain on the left (proof of a good evening). It was fun to play with a mark that was made during our time together. It is interesting to observe differences between interviews I do with people I've met specifically for the interview, and people I've met in a different way. There are two more interview-based works on the way, as well as a larger piece. 

[todayamsterdam]

over the past few days the weather has been great. I've been taking advantage of that and exploring more of the city. starting today, I've begun to process my exciting week. My plans this weekend are to make as much as I can. I have three interviews to work from, too. these are a few of the photos I've been looking to for inspiration.

[todayamsterdam]

this is my first oil painting since being here. I finally caved and bought some oil paints because acrylics were frustrating me, despite their convenience. I wanted to make it larger than anything I'd done so far and wanted to make it based on more than one thing. This painting is based off 5 photos I've taken with my iPhone in the past month, plus a lil imagination. It felt great to use oils again and explore these images. I'm not sure if its done yet.

[todayamsterdam]

I got lost today. It was nice to know I was discovering something new, no matter how frustrating it was. I think I went in the same circle twice. It was also easier to keep calm because I was biking, so I had a sure way to get home, once I figured out how. I ended up asking directions and a very nice woman who spoke very little english let me follow her towards the city center, where I would know where I was. This drawing is based on today and the new part of Amsterdam I 'explored.' I used a preexisting image again, from this notebook. It was a challenge to make clear marks on top of the vivd blue. I need to get a white ink pen. The materials I've been using are conté crayon, graphite pencil, colored pencil, charcoal pencil, sharpie, felt tip pen, marker, acrylic paint, and ball point pen. 

[todayamsterdam]

I tried to focus on location and geography in this drawing, though I don't love the colors at this point. I don't think I'll change this one, but I will develop the idea in coming works.

[todayamsterdam]

this is my first two-page drawing so far. it was really nice to work with the existing image (the pink shapes and white partially hidden circle). this drawing is based off my time in a cafe with ted, my new room, and the weather today. I will be conducting more interviews soon. 

[todayamsterdam]

this drawing is my first attempt to process a few pretty busy days. 

[todayamsterdam]

I am moving to a new space later today. It will be interesting to see how this slight change in environment will influence my work. Here are some photos I've taken in the past few days. The first is the Grote Kerk in Haarlem, the second is me in a teapot, the third is a burger I ordered that came on a  huge piece of wood, and the last two are of displays at the Tropenmuseum. Stay tuned for new work.

[todayamsterdam]

~lifestyle~

I painted this sagging still life that exists in my bathroom. I love the colors of the items on the ladder. I'm pretty excited about it. 

[todayamsterdam]

Jeroen

This is Jeroen. He owns a  bike shop close to wear I live. He was nice enough to let me interview him. His love for bicycles encouraged me to focus on my love for paint. I used a larger canvas than I have in a while and really let myself explore. 

[todayamsterdam]

studio snapshot~~working on my latest interview

*shoutout to molly school–I wouldn't be in this city if it wasn't for ted*

[todayamsterdam]

Anne

here she is, everybody, the artist who is guiding me. It was fun to interview her, because I know her in the context of this project, but I haven't known her for very long and it was nice to hear how she spent her day today. This drawing is based on the impression I got of her from the interview, as well as from the picture above. Inevitably, I'm sure some of what I already know about her was reflected. The main thing I noticed in talking with her about her day was that she was with many people throughout it. This interests me especially because much of her own work is based on the human experience and I'm trying to get a feel for that through these interviews. She borrowed a can opener from a neighbor; visited another neighbor and offered her help; she met with me; and she had another meeting after ours. She was the only person I talked to today, which really made this factor of her day stick out to me. I tried to represent some of this with the imagery of doors in the drawing. It is a little hard to tell but it is drawn on golden paper, around 7x9 inches.