A chance meeting with Dutch artist Veronica van de Vorst, artist/illustrator/art teacher of Hooywerk, was indeed a stroke of good fortune. Why? Because she brightened my world with her artwork.
It was a moment of release, sheer pleasure and a dance in the woods. It called to the deepest recesses of my childhood, its memories, the sentimental moments.
That is after all what art is meant to do to us, isn't it? Take us away on its wings, and fly us to another dimension, that secret world where we all reside and sometimes escape to.
In other words, I LOVE her work and for what it evoked in me. An observer's reaction to a work of art is of course subjective, and Veronica's work fit the bill for me.
Born in the Netherlands, Veronica has always had an interest in art and started creating and drawing from the age of twelve. Pencils and crayons resonated with her and they are her tools of pleasure, for it's never work when one is doing what one loves.
She calls them her little drawings because she likes to keep them small and her artwork is never larger than an A4 size.
In her late teens, Veronica lived in Chicago, USA for a year and studied art/drawing and English literature at the Roosevelt.
Wanting to see the rest of the world, around 1984 she was getting ready to head out to Lebanon to work in Beirut. Unfortunately due to political unrest, the trip was cancelled and she headed for Australia instead. The year long stay she had here had earmarked her to come back to us like a boomerang.
The romance with Australia lasted 23 years before she left our shores to live in Berlin where she has been for the last 8 years. Hooywerk was born, however you'll find most of her artwork on Instragram, where you can follow her under hooyslittledrawings.
If her artwork is right up your alley, it will capture your heart with its whimsical, sentimental and heart tugging illustrations. The good news is, with modern technology, Berlin is not that far away at all. You can contact her to buy her art work, and she has greeting cards and drawing instruction books for sale as well. You can even take an online drawing course.
Veronica also accepts requests for personalised drawings. The image will not look like you, but will instead carry her trademark style and original illustration, which is what you'd want anyway. Otherwise you could just go to a true to life portrait artist. It will however reflect the sentiment of your request.
She shared a story with me about an admirer of her art whom wanted an illustration of her mother. She wanted her childhood memory of her mother feeding chickens surrounded by squirrels and her dog to be brought to life. This, Veronica did in her whimsical sentimental fashion, and the lady was immediately touched as it reflected all the memories she had of her mother.
The point of the story? You too can request Veronica to bring to life something of sentimental value to you. I did say Veronica loves what she does and does not ever part with her originals; not at this stage at any rate.
What you will get is a print, which makes it far more affordable and priceless at the same time, for it will reflect what is most meaningful and dearest to you. Follow this lovely lady and her whimsical drawings on Instagram, and I'm sure you're going to love the captions attached to each piece of artwork. Uncomplicated and child-like, it speaks directly to your heart.
