Today's interview is with an artist I've admired from afar for quite a long while:
Rinske Dekker. What first caught my eye was her unique landscapes which are simplified and amped up with unexpected pattern and color. They make my heart swoon. She lives in Amsterdam, and has an etsy shop called
rins. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do. Now, let's get to know her better, shall we?
1.
Were you always an art kid, or did you stumble upon it later in life?
Well,
I always loved art, I took art classes at high school and attended
art school. After that I taught some classes, worked in an art
supplies store, did commissions and free work but never really found
‘my’ subject. My passion if you will. It
wasn’t until I discovered Yoshitomo Nara’s art, pop surrealism,
or low brow, the designer toy world and especially the artists I
found through Flickr
(the indie art
community) that I felt connected. A whole new world opened for me!
All those artists made things which were cute and funny
and weird and eye-candy. They put the subjects smack in the middle!
At art school back then, we were told not to do these things Loved
it! Everything fell in place. My love for comic books, animations,
fantasy, sci-fi, vintage portrait photographs, patterns, geometric
forms etc.
2.
What style of art is your favorite and why?
Any
art that is imaginative, has beautiful colours, surreal, funny,
narrative and where you can see the craftsmanship, I love the imagery
and imagination and wonderful technique of the pop surrealists or
Lowbrow but I also like the more graphic arts, as you can see in
street art, illustration, graphic design, comic books, collage and
folk art. I just love, love it, when abstract, geometric forms are
combined with a cool figurative image, pref. something
anthropomorphic. I have a thing for animals with human
characteristics and vice versa.
3.
What do you use for inspiration, or how do you generate ideas?
Sketching,
and working on a piece always give me ideas for a next one. And
seeing work by other artists always inspire me. I browse through a
lot of Flickr, Etsy, blogs like Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz, The Jealous Curator, Arrested Motion, etc. Also, my old little laptop is cramped
with inspirational images I found on the web, in books or my own
photographs and in our house there are a lot of beautiful books,
figurines, vintage photos, old tins etc. I only have to look around
and I am inspired by a beautiful colour combination or a cool
pattern.
4.
Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished project.
Most
of the times, it starts with a colour combination I have in my head.
Other times a face or an outfit on a vintage photo strikes me. I
then think of how to translate that in my work. I work on a bunch of
tiny canvases and pieces of found wood at the same time. I shuffle
them around a lot, make different combinations. It allows me to
experiment, to put a leftover colour from my palette on another piece
and to come up with solutions for works that are lying there for a
longer time. The disadvantage of that is that it can sometimes take
ages before I finish a piece because I rather work on something else.
The advantage is that if I do finish work, I finish a batch. I also
make little graphite drawings and, lately, painted clay pendants and
brooches the same way, in batches. So there are always a lot of
unfinished works lying around in that tiny studio.
5.
What is a typical day in your life?
I
don’t have a work schedule. I just work when I feel like it. And
that is normally all day and mostly nights. During my coffee and
breakfast and very often hours after, I am browsing internet, looking
at other art, (re)searching ideas while I sketch, write and doodle in
my sketchbook. Then I go to my studio room and work there until I
remember to also have some fresh air. Do some grocery shopping,
cook, talk with my man, maybe watch some series or read and browse,
sketch, paint again until I am off to bed. Which is very often very
late. I do also have days where I see friends and family, go on bike
rides, walk around in our beautiful city or a park. : )
6.
What do you think draws you to other people's work?
Imagination,
skills, and the use of colours.
When
I feel; “Oh I wish I came up with that!”
7.
What are your interests/hobbies?
Looking
at work of other artists : ) on blogs etc and offline in museums and
galleries. Hanging out with friends, going on road trips (while
photographing landscapes for new paintings), reading and watching
films.
8.
Is this your full time job, or do you have a job out-of-studio?
I
worked for years in an art supplies store to pay the bills (and get a discount on art supplies…).
9.
What is your favorite piece you've ever made and why?
That’s
such a difficult question. I have some old(er) favorites but it’s
mostly the last one I make. I can
also be very happy when I see a bunch of them together. They work so
well in collections, I think. It can make me feel like a child who
sees all their Halloween candy together.
10.
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out in the
business world?
About
the business part: I am not very good at that myself. I tend to stay
too much in my bubble, being in my head, my studio, with my tiny
paintings and be very anti social. But you have to show your work to
the world and talk to people on and offline if you want to sell your
work. So finding the balance there is probably a good advice. : )
I
do know that you should only do what you love. An artist, I forgot
who, said: ‘ immerse yourself in your art and art in general’.
That’s very important I think,
that way you get authenticity and people will see that in your work.
 |
| Rinske's Studio Space. |
11.
Describe your work space.
A
small spare room in our apartment is turned into a tiny studio.
Because I paint and draw real small nowadays, I don’t need much
space. I do have a lot of stuff that needs room, though. A
lot of art supplies, hundreds of postcards and vintage photographs,
books, figurines etc.
 |
| Rinske With A Work In Progress. |
12.
Did you face any setbacks on your path to being an artist?
Yes,
the ‘lack off self esteem moments’, other people, like some
family members, who ‘just don’t understand why you are not having
a proper job’ and money problems make it hard sometimes to keep the
faith. Luckily I have a man who believes in me. : ) Plus,
I experienced that once you have taken that step to become whatever
you want to be, you can’t go back anymore, which is wonderful and
scary at the same time.
13.
What milestones, goals, or achievements are you striving for right
now?
Creating
all those ideas I have in my head and my sketchbooks, exhibitions
abroad, collaborations. Be more organized : )
Thanks so much for letting me interview you!!
You can also find her on:
Her Website
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
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