Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to create the cover illustration for the VPRO Guide. For me, this was a particularly meaningful commission. As a child, I used to collect VPRO covers, fascinated by the variety of styles and ideas they presented. They played an important role in shaping my interest in illustration and visual culture, making it a real honour to eventually contribute one myself.

The cover accompanied a podcast by journalist Nina Jurna about the rich and diverse world of South American music. Rather than illustrating a specific place or story, I wanted to capture the atmosphere and rhythm that music can evoke; something vibrant, layered, and full of movement.

The illustration was created entirely with coloured pencils, allowing for rich textures and subtle colour transitions that echo the warmth and energy of the subject.

I was invited to design the cover for the VPRO Guide—a truly special moment for me. As a child, I collected VPRO covers, drawn in by their bold imagery. They nurtured my fascination with visual culture and shaped my artistic eye. To now create one myself felt like coming full circle—an incredible honor.

This edition revolved around the International Film Festival Rotterdam, whose emblem is a tiger. To weave in the essence of cinema, I transformed its eyes into glowing projectors and wove extra stripes into its fur, echoing the rhythmic slats of a classic film clapper.

At the beginning of this year, the Dutch broadcaster VPRO aired the documentary series Awake in Paraguay, exploring a particular group of Dutch people who have been buying land in Paraguay in large numbers. Their motivations often stem from a deep distrust of the Dutch government and a broader sense of suspicion towards society.

When creating the accompanying illustration, I wanted to avoid making a judgment or pointing a finger. Instead, I imagined a distinctly Dutch figure asleep against a tree in the warm sun, his skin turned a vivid orange from the heat. The border surrounding the image is filled with familiar Dutch clichés and symbols.

The result is a quiet and serene composition rather than an accusatory one. Yet, the combination of the title and the image may suggest that this departure is a kind of escape, and that perhaps these people are not truly “awake” at all, but asleep. That interpretation, however, is left entirely to the viewer.

The illustration was created entirely in pencil.

013 Poppodium commissioned me to create the poster artwork for a concert by Vieux Farka Touré, the celebrated Malian guitarist and songwriter.

While researching the project, I became fascinated by the rich visual culture of Mali, where traditional ceremonies often feature dancers wearing masks representing animals, spirits, and deities. Although Vieux Farka Touré’s music has a contemporary sound, it remains deeply connected to traditional Malian musical heritage.

For that reason, I chose to depict the central figure wearing an antelope mask; an animal that is closely associated with West African culture and frequently appears in traditional Malian art and ceremonial practices. Flowing from the guitar are vibrant, pulsating waves of colour, visualising the energy and movement of the music itself.

What particularly struck me about Vieux Farka Touré’s work is the balance between joy and melancholy. While the rhythms are often uplifting and energetic, certain minor chords reveal a more introspective and emotional layer beneath the surface. I wanted the poster to reflect that duality, allowing it to feel both celebratory and slightly mysterious, with a dreamlike and unpredictable quality.

Museum Nairac invited me to become part of their exhibition ‘Wortels’ (Roots). As an artist from the Veluwe region, I accepted this invitation with great pride.

Barneveld lies only about 20 kilometers from my birthplace, Bennekom; separated by distance, yet bound together by the green forests of the Veluwe; the place where, at a young age, I first encountered the magic these woods have to offer.

A magic that breathes through the pores of folklore and mysterious street names. A magic that feels much like the energy of a gathering thunderstorm reverberating through your bones! The invisible space in between; the things we cannot name; that is where it all takes place!

For this exhibition, I am presenting a selection of works, and it remains open to visitors from March 27 until June 26.

Photo’s by Johan van Omme

Poëziepaleis asked me to create a campaign image for their annual poetry competition. The poster will be distributed nationwide. In the image, a goose flies through a dreamy twilight haze. It is unclear whether dawn is breaking and the stars are fading, or whether night is falling and the stars are appearing. The goose moves along the threshold between these two dimensions; the ultimate in-between place, the twilight zone, where the magic of writing poetry is born!

The legendary Dutch design agency KesselsKramer invited me to create two illustrations for a campaign commissioned by Stabilo. The artwork was designed as an overlay for a series of black-and-white photographs supplied by the agency, bringing bursts of colour, imagination, and spontaneity into otherwise familiar holiday scenes.

The campaign was inspired by the tension many people experience during the holiday season. What is often presented as a joyful tradition can also feel obligatory; a moment when old family dynamics, expectations, and hierarchies quietly re-emerge. Stabilo wanted to challenge that rigidity by suggesting a simple alternative: what if we approached these moments with a little more playfulness and colour?

My role was to create illustrations that disrupted the monochrome world of the photographs. Rather than decorating the images, the drawings act as emotional interventions; injecting warmth, humour, freedom, and imagination into everyday situations.

The final campaign combines commercial illustration, animation, advertising, and storytelling, transforming ordinary holiday gatherings into vibrant visual narratives.

Animation by Bas Mooij.
Audio by Sounds by Thomas.

Check the animation here