What you get when purchasing art at the Mr. Upside gallery

One beautiful painting (‘Soft Skin’) ready for delivery at the clients home, in Voorburg, the Netherlands! The painting, together with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, an invoice, two wooden flyers, business cards and a handwritten personal note on a @moo Deluxe Postcard makes a nice set of 'goodies'.

I always tend to forget how much time, effort and care goes into delivering a painting, :)

But I also remember ordering something at a small Dutch webshop to find a personal, handwritten note added to the box. Someone who I looked up to, had taken the time to write a really personal note. So cool!

Since then I try to incorporate at least a small note, written on Moo Deluxe Postcards, to make the sale even more personal. Giving feels good.

More info on the painting and the sale in this blogpost on the sale in the Mr. Upside Gallery in Voorburg.

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Painting 'Soft Skin' sold

This nice couple came by the Mr. Upside gallery yesterday and decided to become the new owners of this beautiful, relatively new 100x150cm painting. It's a birthday present for the lady on the picture.

More info on the painting here:

Interested in a unique painting yourself?

If you are interested in having a unique abstract painting, like 'Soft Skin' on your wall too, please feel free to contact me. I am happy to discuss the possibilities.

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New in the webshop: artwork 'Honesty'

Many of my artworks go through the same process before ending up as the final artwork you get to see. They are actually several other paintings before the become the final artwork that is ready for sale.

Artwork 'Honesty' is no exception, it has been three other paintings at least before she became what she is now. And she got her name not because of that. But because of the transparency of the white lines on the upper layer. Transparency for me is a metaphor for honesty. No hidden agenda's.

The first layer is fierce red glossy paint, bought in a hardware store. I loved it because of its opacity. Then I decided to give it black lines, similar to 'Drone' and 'Field portrait'. Because I still felt it was missing something, I used the white Molotow Speedflow Ink for the last layer, knowing that white has always some transparency.

The painting adapts easily to every interior because of its shape and size.

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Five artworks ready for shipping to Munich (Germany) and Strasbourg (France)

The Mr. Upside European Tour continues. Five abstract paintings are ready for shipping to Munich (Germany) and Strasbourg (France). The Mr. Upside European Tour is a series of exhibitions in Hilton Hotels in Europe.

Mr. Upside European Tour

Previously, a few other paintings travelled to Stockholm (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany) and Paris (France) for exhibitions. As you can see the paintings Working Day, Bits and Pieces, Blood Lines, Bold Pink and White Noise are all wrapped up in shrink foil.

Temporarily reduced price on art

For a few months, due to the exhibition the paintings won't be available in the gallery for viewing but they will be still available in the webshop. I even temporarily reduced the price a bit. The empty spaces on the gallery walls will be filled with new works soon. Check out my Instagram account for more updates on the freshed and newest paintings. Or subscribe on my newsletter.

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Eight fresh new Mr. Upside artworks online - Artwork 7 of 8: 'Unfinished Sympathy'

Recently I re-discovered some archived artworks that weren't available on the Mr. Upside webshop yet. This article describes the seventh artwork ('Unfinished Sympathy') as part of a series of eight blogposts on the new paintings and illustrations.

7. Painting 'Unfinished Sympathy'

What do you think? Is the piece finished? Or does it need some extra work?

I like the idea of something that leaves room for interpretation. Which shapes (or colors) would be there if the painter didn't stop? When is an artwork 'finished'? Artwork 'Unfinished sympathy' is unpretentious. It doesn't have a complex concept. The image itself is complex enough.

Together with the white frame and passe-partout, the pink lines radiate softness and kindness. Sympathy.

Artwork 'Unfinished Sympathy' is available in the webshop for € 69 / $ 74 (frame included)

* The price in dollars is calculated on the exchange rates at the time of writing this blogpost. Shipping costs depend on the shipping method and delivery address.

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Eight fresh new Mr. Upside artworks online - Artwork 5 of 8: 'Denim Vanilla'

Recently I re-discovered some archived artworks that weren't available on the Mr. Upside webshop yet. This article describes the fifth artwork ('Denim Vanilla') as part of a series of eight blogposts on the new paintings and illustrations.

5. Painting 'Denim Vanilla'

Artwork 'Denim Vanilla' shows bold vanilla white brush strokes on a dark denim blue background. It is one of very first paintings in the Bold Lines collection. More recent Bold Lines paintings show a less free, more organised and structured image. 'Denim Vanilla' has more character. It shows the rough edges of the brush strokes and the 'white space' is less calculated as the more recent Mr. Upside artworks.

The color combination of the denim and vanilla made the painting fit prefectly within our own, partly industrial interior. The canvas has therefore spent a substantial amount of time in our own living room.

Painting 'Denim Vanilla' is available in the Mr. Upside webshop for € 129 / $ 138

* The price in dollars is calculated on the exchange rates at the time of writing this blogpost. Shipping costs depend on the shipping method and delivery address.

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Artwork 'Don't talk. Listen' has found a new home. Within a week!

On March 12 I finished this piece ‘Don’t talk. Listen.’ and wrote about it in this blogpost. It’s called ‘Don’t talk. Listen’ because I find it sad to see so many people talking about themselves without ever asking their conversational partner anything.

Turning a negative into something positive

Without wanting to seem bitter; wouldn't it be nice if people would talk less and listen more? The painting is one of the more recent artworks that is inspired by something that really bothered me. A negative thought and feeling. While I always keep reminding myself to think positive, this was something that frustrated me. But I am very happy to have been able to turn this frustration into something nice.

Don't think twice

The illustration is made with Posca acrylic paint markers on heavy paper. The use of paper as a medium is an experiment. As an artist you want as many people as possible to enjoy your work. But with higher prices, up to € 999,- for the larger paintings, I can imagine people to think twice about purchasing my art.

This ‘experiment' needs more time to finish but... this one already sold! Today. I am excited. Within four days it already sold!

Resemblance

This lovely elderly couple walked past the gallery this afternoon, looked through the window and decided to have a look at this fresh new artwork. After having a small conversation, they bought the piece. If you happen to see any slight resemblance of the couple with me, that's correct. They are my parents, :) And although I offered a special VIP-discount, they even insisted in paying the listed price. I love this kind of customers!

Like to stay up-to-date?

Want to stay up-to-date with new artworks, fresh projects and breaking news? Sign up for the Mr. Upside newsletter! Like you, I do not like spam and fully respect your privacy.

Instagram for more updates

or you can check out my Instagram account for almost daily updates.

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Two new paintings added to the Mr. Upside Bold Lines Collection

Although time was limited due to a full schedule the past two months I managed to finish two large paintings! They had been 'sleeping' in my studio for almost a year.

First I planned to have the paintings finished before a new upcoming exhibition in Gent, Belgium at The Holliday Inn Hotel there. But later on I realised the sizes of the paintings exceed the available space there. So I'll keep them in the Mr. Upside Gallery in Voorburg, The Netherlands. 

Artwork 'Working Day'

One painting (shown above) was inspired by a working day at a office. I choose its name 'Working Day' because of the dense, more 'connected' part in the bottom left part and the parts that depict more human elements.

The painting is not as colorful as previous ones because I investigated a more timid, less 'excitement'-style. One advantage of using a more toned-down color scheme is that it fits more easily in different interiors.

More information on artwork 'Working Day' can be found here.

Artwork 'Bits and pieces'

The second painting took a while to get its current balance, both in color and shape. The first setup was extremely rough and I felt the need to take the time to correct the spaces between the lines and the thickness of the lines themselves.

Although I still haven't found the ultimate balance and my newest works contain longer, more structured lines, I am quite happy with how this painting worked out. Just like the painting in the upper part of this blogpost, I used a more toned-down, earthly color scheme.

More information on the 'Bits and pieces' artwork.

Mr. Upside on Instagram

If you would like to see more images on 'work-in-progress--projects and art, please check out my Instagram account on www.instagram.com/mrupsideart

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KPN commissioned painting 2 'Alexander the Great'

In March 2015 I was commissioned a painting by KPN, one of the largest Dutch telecommunications providers. In October 2015, Peter, the Department Director who commissioned the painting, called if I was interested in making another painting. This time the artwork was intended as a gift for a manager who, after 17 years of service, soon would be leaving KPN. Of course I did not hesitate.

The challenge was to make the gift relevant to Alexander, the manager who would be leaving. Luckily I knew him. I had worked very pleasantly with him before on several UX/UI design projects.

Concept

I had the idea of using a playing card. Not a regular one, but a personal one. An ‘Ace of Spades’ card. Of all the cards in a deck, this card is seen as a lucky card. The character A refered to both an Ace and the first character of Alexanders name. An Ace is also someone who excels in certain activities.

Furthermore I wanted to use my ‘Astronaut’-painting in my current ‘Bold Lines’ style and used it to visualize Alexander as a knight on a horse; a reference to Alexander the Great. Alexander, as a manager, is an outgoing, friendly and passionate person. The short, orange lines are a visual reference to comics where such lines are used to visualise ‘bold’ communication. The kind Alexander likes to use.

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Commissioned painting 'Ecosystem' for Dutch telecommunications provider KPN

We both stood with cake on a paper saucer in our hands. Around us colleagues were having animated conversations. For me this was a familiar situation. Being a Freelance UX Designer for 8 years now, I had many of these ‘thank you and good bye’ occasions here.

"What are you going to do?" the Director Online asked.
"I would like to devote more time to my art", I replied.
"Can you show me your work?"
“Sure!"

I grabbed my laptop, connected it to the brand new super large tv-screen and typed the URL of my online art portfolio I had quickly and silently launched two months before. While I was in the middle of giving a brief introduction to my plans and notes on old work, the Managing Director interrupted me.

"What should such a work of yours cost?”.

No prices where shown on the website. I mentioned a global price.

“Ok. I'd like to have one for the department. But make sure it has something to do with KPN.”.

I just witnessed my very first painting being commissioned.

In March 2015 I left the UX design project I had been working on for almost a year, to spent more time on my art. To thank the KPN ‘Mobile Sales’ department for their trust and confidence in my abilities as a designer, I bought pastries. But the very last thing I expected was to walk out the door with a commission for a painting.

Commissioned painting for Dutch telecommunications provider KPN

The following weeks I sketched as if my life depended on it, regularly sending updates to the client, neatly presented in a PDF. As Mr. Upside I wanted the painting to convey a positive message. Out of two possible options in the first round, the client selected the ‘Ecosystem’ theme. And added another of complexity by adding three extra keywords.

The telecommunications market, a large organization like KPN and especially the Mobile Sales department I worked at, are shown as living and growing ecosystems. It is a life cycle in which screens or communication are sold 24/7. KPN does not actively recycle any products but every sold ‘screen’ adds to the ecosystem by providing an opportunity to buy even more screens. In the painting the staff is symbolised by a warm and friendly female person who is connected to her colleagues by head phones. The head phones symbolise the focussed listening to clients. Who on their turn are represented by bees.

To keep the work accessible and approachable, I chose an illustrative and figurative form. During the sketching phase it became obvious that to accomplish the desired symmetrical and graphical look, the illustration had to start in a digital form. This would allow me to quickly select the proper color combinations and easy compositioning.

It did not always go as smooth as expected though. One of the things I did not assess well was the opacity of some acrylic paints. Which resulted in covering most parts of the painting with three layers of acrylic paint. And my pursuit of a clean illustrative style ensured that I sometimes got lost in the details.

Despite the very extensive process I am very grateful for the rare opportunity of being commissioned to deliver such a large painting in such an early stage of the my art career.

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More from the Mr. Upside blog:

Studying fine artist Joan Miro

Working overtime, :) Like anyone else my ‘favorite’ artist tends to change from time to time. Doing some research now on #Joan #Miro. It’s awesome to read about the artist behind the beautiful art.

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Bought two art books at Loods5

Went to Loods5 today, which is a huge interior products shop (like Ikea but much better) in Sliedrecht, The Netherlands.

Besides buying a nice design lamp there, I ended up with two art books by Taschen in my shopping cart. One about Keith Haring and one about pop-art artist Roy Lichtenstein. Hopefully I’ll find the time somewhere in the next few days to start reading them.

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