New online identity, new portfolio

In the past months I've been working 'silently' on a visual and functional overhaul of my existing art webshop.

Why? 

Three reasons. 

Reason 1

Because the initial concept of my art, 'bringing happiness and joy through lots of colours', limited my creative progress. I know that the common belief is that limitations enhance your creativity and I can endorse that belief. But I had lots of ideas for paintings and art objects that didn't fit the concept and it is way to early in my career to limit myself.

Reason 2

Besides a concept that didn't fit my art anymore, my online presence was scattered. With four separate online identities, all offering services in the fields of design, art and interior styling, my online presence was scattered. 

I had four websites up and I only updated my art webshop. My freelance Visual + UX/UI Design and Illustration portfolio could be reached at Designia.nl. I had a sleeping personal blog at MichielNagtegaal.nl and I still have a Dutch interior design blog because of the small amounts of money I receive from affiliate links. And it is still online because it takes massive amounts of time and effort to transfer the hundreds of blogposts to this new website, :)

 

Reason 3

And last but not least, in the past several years lots of Youtubers and Instagrammers cleverly managed to set up a business around nothing more than their own person. Becoming a so-called Influencer. Very admirable and inspiring.

I am not the kind of person that likes to have a camera on their face each and every moment of the day but this trend in Social Media got me thinking about 'being my own brand'. Why not just sell 'me' as a creative package? What do I have to offer? Would it even be possible to cross sell my creative disciplines? With analytical UX Design on one end and the total freedom of fine art on the other end, there is a real risk of not selling anything at all because clients don't know what your expertise is.

So I decided to combine it all into one online presence; MichielNagtegaal.com. And time will tell which of the four 'brands' survive. 

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Mr. Upside is featured in the Contemporary Book of Excellence Vol. III

Making art and then hoping someone will notice it without properly showing it to the world, is not the strategy I had in mind for my art. But where do you start? And which places do you select for showing the result of your hard work?

I am still experimenting with that part of the art business. Part of this ongoing experiment is my two page spread in the 'Contemporary Art of Excellence' book. Published by the GAA (Global Art Agency) its a book with a curated set of international artists.

Although the mention in the CAE book is initiated by me (it is essentially nothing more than a luxureous ad) you still have to go through the selection. I am proud to be part of that selection.

The book can be bought at Amazon.

More info on the background of this publication can be found in the most recent e-mail newsletter here.

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Work-in-progress: abstract artwork 'Flamingo Morning'

I thought it would be nice to share some work-in-progress shots. I always like those short videos about the creative process on Vimeo and although this video doesn't come close to those beautiful inspirational ones, I still wanted to share mine. At least on Instagram.

On May 24th I had just received some new Molotow markers and ink. And although I had other, way more responsible plans for that evening, I couldn't resist filling an empty marker with some neon pink ink.

Aluminum Dibond

A few days earlier I had recieved a 80 x 120cm (31.4" x 47.2") print of 'Working Day' on aluminum Dibond. It was one of my experiments to make the larger, original Mr. Upside paintings available to a wider range of people, at a lower price. The experiment wasn't 100% successful. I didn't like the result because of the less saturated colors. I did like the thin aluminum plate though. And I can imagine it hanging on a wall.

Splice app

On that particular evening in my gallery, with fresh bright neon pink refills of Molotow ink in my hand, I suddenly realised the aluminum dibond print was perfect as a background for neon pink Bold Lines. I asked Janette to make the short video you see in this post. She used the mobile app Splice.

At the time of writing this blogpost I am waiting for some materials I ordered to hang the artwork properly on a wall. And to have some decent pictures of the artwork in the Mr. Upside webshop, a painting must be hung on a wall. I'll write a blogpost on it once it is available in the webshop.

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Abstract artwork 'Drone' sold via Instagram

And quickly too! The abstract painting wasn't even for sale yet on the webshop. But one 'work-in-progress' picture on Instagram triggered the new owner to comment on the picture. We had some contact and after sending some higher quality pictures the artwork was sold.

Black Molotow marker

Earlier I did some experiments on paper with black 60mm wide Molotow Masterpiece 760PI markers, as shown in the video below. The experiments with black where promising but I was especially interested in the result of the white markers on a darker painted background, because this result is more in line with the 'positive' theme in my art.

White Bold Lines

So the moment I had some little spare time inbetween design projects, and a small bottle of white Molotow ink still in a box somewhere, I decided to try out the white Molotow Masterpiece 760PI marker on a painting I had prepared weeks before.

While I was making the lines really slowly, I got that sweet feeling again. It is a feeling that only comes up when I know it is going to work out fine. Everything on that moment falls into place. The notion of time disappears. The combination was just right. The semi-transparent white lines with exactly the right stroke width, the amount of space between the lines and the darker background all worked together beautifully.

And then I got too confident.

I wanted to add some minor imperfections. So after pushing the marker firmly on a piece of paper to get the ink flowing, I swiped the marker back and forth above the painting. Some spatters appeared. And then the whole tip got loose and landed on the painting. I cursed. This was not what I had in mind.

Dismissed

And it got worse. Later on, when the marker ran empty on ink and I wanted to force the last bit out, I pushed the marker a few times too many. The ink gushed out. Causing the ink to drip.

This was also not what I had in mind.

But I decided to continue anyway. I could always cover the painting with a new layer of paint when I felt like it.

I posted a picture on Instagram and described my frustration in the caption. Not much later, a former colleague responded to my frustrated post. What the price of the artwork was. And since I had the intention to dismiss the painting, I was surprised. I could see the obvious beauty of the painting but wasn't able to look past the two larger imperfections.

The potential buyer and I had some contact via Instagram Direct Messages and e-mail. And after I sent some better pictures with higher quality, the customer still had not lost his interest in the painting and bought it.

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Moved into my new studio in Leidschendam

Although I received the keys to my new studio earlier, I moved my canvases, paint and other stuff today. And as with many of my projects, I properly underestimated the amount of work involved.

A week earlier I had made a fair deal with Jeroen, one of my 'neighbours' in the old building, to help me move four large pieces of furniture while I helped him out moving his stuff.

So how hard could it be? All the heavy stuff had been moved already.

Easy

Confident this would be a piece of cake, I envisioned a nice early start at 09.00h. After which it would take just 'a few' hours around my old studio to load 'a few' canvases, a bit of paint, two office chairs and some random other stuff in the chartered van. Then it would take four kilometers, a five minute drive, and two hours tops to unload all the stuff into my new creative sanctuary. I even would have an hour or two in the late afternoon to do some work. Easy!

It turned out a little bit different.

Stairs and large paintings

First, the paintings. Apparently I had been a bit more productive in the past three years than I remembered. Second, quite a few paintings did have a size that seriously limited the possibility of handling more than one painting at a time. And third, I severly underestimated the amount of doors and stairs in the new building I had to conquer to get to my new studio.

Satisfied

When I finished it was diner time. My legs felt I had run the New York Marathon after a night out with a few drinks too many. But I was satisfied. The old studio was emtpy. My new studio a chaos. But with all the stuff on the right location, I locked the door. Tired but satisfied.

Another upside

One other advantage of moving stuff is the re-discovery of some old stuff you forget you had. Sometimes it's a trip down memory lane. Sometimes it brings extra inspiration. The latter is the case with the artworks shown below. Most of them are unfinished but I still see why I choose to make them and why I should be making more, :)

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Mr. Upside designs unique, special edition staircase

Robert de Kuijper, owner and founder of Stairz, contacted Mr. Upside lately with an unusual request. This involved making a unique design for stairs that will be used on a large convention starting soon.

Stairz is a Dutch company specializing in the renovation of stairs. The company will have a large, 645ft2 (60m2) booth on the Huishoudbeurs, one of the largest life style conventions in The Netherlands. In the centre of this booth, demonstration stairs will need to grab the attention of the 250.000 visitors. Mr. Upside came up with a striking design.

Stairz

The stairs are one the most used areas of your home. Every day the same spot on stairs bear a heavy load, with wear and tear as a result. Stairz Renovation came up with a specially designed step covers. Stairz have been specializing in stair renovation for 12 years now and they have become one the Dutch market leaders in stair renovation.

Huishoudbeurs 2017

This is what the Amsterdam RAI, the convention centre that hosts the event, says about the Huishoudbeurs:

The Huishoudbeurs is one of the largest annual life style events in the Netherlands. This fun event ensures a day of fabulous shopping while enjoying and testing products from more than 370 exhibitors. Make the most of the many bargains and deals, participate in creative workshops, watch fashion shows and see top performances and surprising acts at Festival Fantastique. It's all in a great day out!

Mr. Upside Bold Lines

Mr. Upside used the Bold Lines collection of artworks as a starting point for designing the illustration on the risers of the staircase. The graphical patterns in this collection reflect the optimistic view of Mr. Upside. They also offer a look inside new, creative worlds with special characters and symbols. Those patterns and symbols tell stories. Stories without much rules or laws and each story is different each time you look at it. Together they form a visual language with one common message: positivity.

Above five of ten designs that where presented to Stairz as a possible design for the demonstration staircase.

Above: A staff member of Ilioreclame, an advertising company specializing in window and car signage in Lisse, The Netherlands working on one the eight risers of the demonstration staircase.

Above: the final demonstration stairs in the Stairz warehouse (left picture) and the stairs in the booth on the Huishoudbeurs 2017.

Above: the Stairz Stairs Renovation Booth on the Huishoudbeurs 2017 in the RAI in Amsterdam. In the middle of the booth you can see the demonstration staircase with the Mr. Upside design.

Above: Stairz also specializes in designer sliding doors, under the moniker of Schuiff (Slide in Dutch). This is the back of the Stairz booth.

Above: to promote the Mr. Upside staircase on the Huishoudbeurs 2017 several flyers where printed; a Mr. Upside flyer, a Stairz x Mr. Upside flyer explaining the designs and possibilities, fresh new business cards and a small card to leave your e-mail address.

Will I see you on the Huishoudbeurs 2017?

Come to the Huishoudbeurs 207 from Saturday february 18th till Sunday February 26th! It will be nice to see you and maybe I can help you improve your interior by hanging a unique Mr. Upside artwork, ;)

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New commission 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'

On january 10th I congratulated Peter with his birthday by sending him a quick message with my phone and thanking him for the art projects he commissioned in 2015 en 2016. He replied by requesting 'something nice' as a farewell gift for manager Rogier who just had left Dutch communications provider KPN.

It was never my intention to get a new commission but I was honored and excited to make a new artwork for KPN. Especially because Rogier was someone I knew, liked and had been pleasantly working for, for quite some time, as a freelance UX Designer.

Tight deadline

The project had one major challenge. Time. The farewell party was in about two weeks. It meant I had to sacrifice my newly fitness routine and probably a substantial amount of sleep to win some precious time. I really didn't mind. Making art is more important than a lean and mean body, :)

Keep calm and...

Directly after getting the assignment, I sent an e-mail to a few former co-workers of Rogier asking for a character description that could complement my own experiences with Rogier. One of them, Sanne, soon replied with some very usefull tips and that inspired me to the title and text in the illustration 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'. Rogier stays calm and seemingly relaxed and focused in stressfull situations, hence the part 'Keep calm and...'. One thing I didn't know was the passion for cooking Rogier apparently has. But cooking and a kitchen are always very useful metaphores in an image, so I used that part to come up with the second part of the double portrait of Rogier.

Figurative style

Recently I made some illustrations on paper in a different style compared to the Bold Lines style I have been using the last few years. I decided to use that particular, more figurative style as a starting point for my sketches.

Pencil sketches on canvas

One problem I didn't foresee was the transfer of my sketches on paper to the canvas. My sketches where on a 1:1 scale. I used a grid with guidelines to help me with the positioning. But by wanting to do things too quickly, I forgot that pencil strokes on a canvas can't be easily erased. Using an eraser on a canvas, smears the pencil strokes instead of erasing them. Leaving an ugly grey stain on the canvas that needs several layers of white acrylic paint to be covered up. So my pencil sketches on canvas had to be right the first time. Luckily I knew the drawing very well as I had practiced it many times in the past days.

Posca paint markers

Due to the short and tight deadline, I decided to use Posca paint markers. They make it possible to speed up the paint process and have a consistent color scheme. And I needed that consistency to save more time by using a limited color scheme of four colors.

Working at night

Because of other responsiblities and my current projects as a freelance UX Designer, I had to do a large part of the work starting after 21.00h. But I like the atmosphere of the night. It's quiet outside. There are no distractions in the form of phone calls or e-mails and with some energizing music in the background, I managed to stay awake and not making any major errors untill approximately 02.30h. This proved a great way to finish a project with such a tight deadline.

Finished artwork

Like to see the final result? Check out the 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'-artwork in the section with commissioned artworks.

If you like to stay up-to-date with new artworks and developments, please check and follow me on Instagram.

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