Why did the chicken cross the road?

On instagram I found Torafish's account.
He makes beautiful photos, and besides that, he collects a certain sentence in all languages: 'Why did the chicken cross the road?'.
Not the answer to this question, but the question itself. He collects these to add to his 17 cm x 10.8 cm sketchbook.

So far he didn't have the Dutch version, so I drew and wrote him this.



(Fortunately there was extra room on the envelope, as I couldn't resist to have the chicken think of the answer..)

Poem from the seventies

I must have been 12 years old when I wrote this poem and drew the black and white drawing. It became part of a printed class booklet, made by our class as a kind of 'goodbye' to the class and as a souvenir to our primary school time, which at that time soon would come to an end.
There's a lot more to say about this booklet, about the people I shared most of those 6 to 8 school years with, to things that happened and not happened in those days... But today I just share with you this 'early work'.

I copied it and added colours to it anno 2015. To send this page to Nicole in Belgium. I always love to send pigs and piglets pictures to her (and she loves to send wonderful animal collages to me in reply - thank you, Nicole!).

Ho.owl

Some time ago I received a friendly Owlet, thanks to the kind HO,OWL whom I learned to know via instagram.

And the little Owl inspired me to draw these owls in return:



Thanks to a photographer's webshop I found a suitable postage stamp.



If you want to learn more about the little ho,owl and read the story, please check his website!


By the way, the mail journeys between Spain and Netherlands were a little special. While the Spanish postal service sent the owl to me via Canada, the Dutch postal service didn't recognize the Dutch 'international postage' stamp as an international postage stamp, which it really is, and asked me politely but strictly to add some more stamps :-)

'Treat all animals respectful. They know more than you think they do.'

Started to draw this Sea Gull more than a week ago at a cube competition. Finished yesterday, 4th of October, World Animal Day.

While our two guinea pigs got extra endive and other vegetables (by the way, they always and each day get extra endive and other vegetables) I was contemplating about some weird, paradox happening during World Animal Day.
People tend to treat their pets with some extras on this day. But: many pets are cats and dogs, and their treats usually exist of, right, animals... Cows, pigs, chicken, of whom most, at least in our country, don't enjoy the good things of life, hidden in stables without sunlight, with too little space and a hard floor without any plants...
Paradoxical, isn't it?

Sent to Ryosuke Cohen for the Brain Cell project.

Yes! to the Yes Men (and please stop TTIP*)

I am happy to receive and share this Brain Cell form, which Ryosuke Cohen sent to me.
In case you don't know this project: in June 1985 Ryosuke Cohen started this networked art project, to which individual artists from all over the world contribute stamps, stickers, drawings etcetera. These contributions are sent through the mail to him. He assembles and prints them using a small silkscreen system, the so-called Cyclostyle. He prints 150 copies (30 x 42 cm) and each participant is mailed a Brain Cell print along with a documentation list of contributors world wide. And this process is repeated every 8 to 10 days.
So the print you see above is Brain Cell number 924 already!

See for more information wikipedia and the IUOMA 'Brain Cell Compilation' group.

On this Brain Cell no 924, center right, you can find my contribution, a tribute to the Yes Men. Here's the (scanned) original one:



Made out of enthusiasm after seeing a documentary on this duo and movement. I admire their non-violent, intriguing, sometimes even funny way to make the earth a better place instead of the polluted, overconsuming, injust, unfair and even more threatened place our world is nowadays...
See for more info on the Yes Men wikipedia and their website.

* Meanwhile big industry is keeping on threatening our vulnerable world in order to fill their own pockets. By for instance the TTIP and CETA: sinister trade deals. 'Helped' by the also obscure ISDS we will sell our democracy, and loose our earth, to investors who have no other purpose than profit. 'Europe' and 'the USA' will soon sign a trade agreement which makes me very much worried about all fore-mentioned threats to our world.
Please help the political leaders' conscience, help them to make a healthy and wise decision instead of sell their souls and our world for unfair and dangerous commercial purposes. You can do so by getting informed, sign petitions and spread the word. Please take a look at the Stop TTIP site (and many would be grateful if you sign the petition, thank you!).