We’ve brought all of our favorite illustrations, designs and photos from the past eight years of Flow into one book: the Flow Book of Posters & Cards. And we’ve asked some of the illustrators featured in the book to talk with us on our blog. Here, Marloes de Vries tells us what she’s up to.
“When I made this poster, I used a lot of fineliners and dip pens for hand-lettering. I listened to the song from which the lyrics come over and over and over and over; so much in fact, that it almost drove me crazy! With my hand-lettering, I always try to catch the mood of the words. Is the text happy, sad, emotional? What kind of letters reflect this? What composition works best? Ultimately, I spend more time on the pre-sketches than on the end result, but that’s also okay I think. I always have to carefully consider whatever I do; it has to be right.”
What are you up to at the moment?
“This year I have put my work and career under the microscope and looked at what I really want. I think that everyone should it and ask themselves: What am I good at and what do I want? Sometimes you waste time on things you don’t actually want anything from, and that keeps you from the things that are right for you and that you enjoy doing. In general, I’m pretty good at following my heart, but sometimes we let ourselves be seduced by other things. That’s why I put down clearly in writing what I want, and I’m holding myself to it. It’s working well for me. I now also help other creatives this way, through mentoring sessions that I organize.”
Making and taking time
“My work and home life run alongside each other. I am a person who lives to create, so in my free time, I’m always making new things. I do try to make more time for other things too, though. So I just started with yoga and meditation in order to have a calmer mind. This month, I started working on a graphic novel, which is taking much more time than I had envisaged! I’m writing and drawing it myself so I had to have the story written down on paper and create a storyboard before I could make a start on the illustrations. But while drawing it, I’ve also tweaked the storyline a bit here and there. It is truly a labor of love, a project that comes from the heart.”
Discovering what I can do
“Over the past six months, I’ve been developing more products for my web shop. These include my own books, cards and art prints, as well as bags, inspirational posters, buttons and zines. If you do not know what the latter is, look it up: collecting zines is so addictive! All in all, I have a good selection of products. For years, I’ve intended to work more freely, in the form of painting. It’s extremely time consuming, but it gives me so much satisfaction. I very much hope that I can make something with it. The playing, the creating in a free way, always brings me to a new level, somewhere that I can discover what I am capable of and what I want in terms of style and imagery.”
If you’d like to learn more about Marloes de Vries and see more of her work, check out her website.
Photos: Marloes de Vries & Audrey Victoria
The Flow Book of Posters & Cards – featuring a poster by Marloes de Vries – is now available from our web shop and from stores worldwide.
