Inspiring women — Marloes De Vries, endless creativity

I'm a busy bee in general. I love working on ideas that randomly pop up in my head, and if I'm not working on a project for a client, like books or magazines, I work on something I came up with myself.

When I'm not working I love to be in nature, it soothes me. I prefer to be alone in nature as it helps me understand my thoughts better and not get distracted. I love hiking and hill climbing, and one of my favourite things in the world are little mountain streams. It's amazing how a little stream can turn into a river or lake, and I find symbolism in that too.

We love your illustrations because they're brilliant, both beautiful and witty! But we are amazed by the paintings you showed recently, do you think your creativity is evolving?

 

That's so nice to hear! I absolutely feel that my creativity is streaming now. It has always been evolving but since a few months it's like a river, I feel the changes coming.

 

For me it's important that I keep developing myself as a human as well as an artist. I feel that is the purpose of life. After having worked as an illustrator and designer for commercial clients and publishers for over 16 years I now long for time to let my own creativity speak. I'm so used to doing what others (clients) tell me to do that it takes some time to change that mindset and letting go of what has been really comfortable for me for over a decade but it's necessary for me to feel fulfilled as an artist and creative person.

 

 

 

We have been following your work for years on Instagram and you have the superpower of making us feel instantly happy, not only with your illustrations but also with the content you share in Stories. To what extent do you think Instagram helped you with your professional career?

 

This interview is too good for my ego, hahaha! Yes, Instagram has definitely helped my professional career. To give an example: I haven't had a portfolio website for over ten years so the only way clients can find me is through Instagram. For the past 8 years I have had full-time work in illustration so I'd say it absolutely works.

 

It has opened doors for me but of course there are downsides too. It can be a very superficial place where people only show their highlight reel to the world. There's so much fakeness and insincerity already in the world and I feel social media emphasizes that sometimes. I try to be as honest as possible online to balance it out just a little bit. I hope others will too!

 

 

 

We know you try to visit the UK more than once per year and you love their culture. Do you feel the United Kingdom is your soulmate place? What can you find there that you don’t find in the Netherlands?

 

I'm not sure why I feel so much more connected to the UK than to the Netherlands. I think it's a mixture of things, for example the landscape. The Netherlands is almost entirely flat. You can see the horizon always and to be honest, I find that quite boring. You can always see what lies ahead of you, there are no surprises or mysteries.

 

The UK with its hills has so much more depth. Also, the variety of nature in the UK is so wide! You have mountains, multiple seas, cliffs, ancient woods, flatlands, and so on. There's also a lot more space and it's a lot less crowded than the Netherlands. I need time on my own to re-charge and that's much easier to do so in the UK.

 

The other thing is the culture. I like the food and how they embraced other cultures in their kitchen. I love how art is much more a part of their daily lives compared to the Netherlands, where saying you are an artist often results in being made fun of. At least, in my experience. What I've found is that the British seem a bit distant at first but once you get to know them they are so big-hearted. They also have the best sense of humour! I hope to move there some day, that would be my dream.

 

Our Perch case is one of your work buddies and we are so happy about it! What do you like the most of our Bonitos?

 

Who doesn't want a fish and put their beloved pencils in them? Okay, that sounds weird but you get what I mean. The attention to detail is incredible... I love that the insides are similar to real fish insides.

 

I think it's the combination of this unique design, sticking to the theme of sea life, combined with excellent and loving designs of the bags and cases, with a sprinkle of perfect colours on top that makes your Bonitos my favourite. Life's too short for boring pencil cases.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us today, Marloes! Keep sharing your art and thoughts, they are much needed!

 

You'll find Marloes work and everyday adventures on her Instagram account, her portfolio on her website and you can also support her work being a member of her Patreon account.