Happy New Year of the Pig!

Composition in green

And now for something completely different :-)
One of my very few abstract paintings. Or maybe not that abstract: I wonder if you can see any figurative in this 'Composition in green'?

To be send to Eduardo Cardoso, (minimal) mail artist in Portugal.



On the back I added a silver coloured sticker, which appeared, when scanned, to contain clearly visible stars and flowers.

Mail Chicken and Mail Gull

About 48 weeks ago I painted two postal birds, on eggs. Birds other than the well-known mail pigeons. I peeled the eggs a little on the back to remove the inside. And I've kept them for almost a year in my kitchen window sill.

Finally the time has come to let them go, thanks to this call for an Egg Mail Art project!

So I packed them and added some drawing inside the box:



Seems to be a good question: 'Who was first, the chicken or the egg?'. These birds know the answer!



And I addressed it to the curator of this project, Éva in Hungary:



With some flying egg on the back side (all credits to the mail artist who drew this first - alas I forgot who it was.):



All in a larger package with many stamps:



Wishing both birds a good and safe travel!

Las Meninas - donde están?

Las Meninas (1656) is a famous painting by Diego Velázquez.
And a mail art project (2015-2016) organized by Carlos Botana.

So far I always thought 'Las Meninas' was referring to the child in front, but when I searched for more information to create this mail art I learned that 'Meninas' means 'Maids-of-honour' (the junior attendants) and the child in the center is no 'menina' but the young Margarita Teresa.

Nevertheless, in my interpretation alas the Meninas have disappeared. The child and the painter himself (also pictured in the original painting!) remained.
As our present crown princess wears a pink dress on this stamp, I thought in those days Margarita might have liked a more prominent pink dress, too.




For the envelope I used some paper which showed an other painting by Velázquez, and a stamp showing the lighthouse of Terschelling, because it reminds me in some way of the lighthouse in the place of destination, A Coruña. And warm socks, it is winter now.
Finally, I could't resist to draw an artistamp on the back (here shown next to the front images) showing a Brazilian/Portuguese children's song: 'Vamos Menina' (aka 'Vamos Maninha'). I am curious to know if someone would have sung lullabies for la infanta Margarita in those days?

Beschilderde enveloppen

Ontvangen van Guido Vermeulen, deze bijzonder beschilderde enveloppen (met als inhoud oa een bundel/zine gedichten - die zal ik in de toekomst plaatsen op een nog op te richten mailart-boeken blog).

Received from Guido Vermeulen, these extraordinarily painted envelopes (containing - among others - a poetry zine, which I'll show you in future on a mail art books blog - which I will create when I'll have more spare time).

Collage de Argentina

Ontvangen van Viviana Cernjul uit Argentinië, deze mooie collages.
Viviana's arte correo website vind je hier.

Received from Viviana Cernjul from Argentina, these beautiful collages. Viviana's mail art website you can find here.



In de envelop ook een landschaps-aquarel uit een tijdschrift, of oude encyclopedie, waarbij op de achterkant bovenstaande interessante tekeningen van verschillende soorten 'cianofíceas', beter bekend als blauwalgen. Wel bijzonder, te beseffen dat het hier in Nederland volop zomer is (met 'kans op blauwalg'), en in Argentinië hartje winter!

In the envelope Viviana added a nice watercolour painting of a landscape, so to see from a magazine or encycplopedia. However the back side I thought interesting, too: illustrations of some types of 'cianofíceas' aka blue-green algae. Which makes me realize that now, here in the Netherlands, it's summer (and by heat swimmers are warned about the risks of blue-green algae), while in Argentina it's winter!

Muchas gracias, Viviana!

No need to solve the whole puzzle...

... just send around pieces of them!





Ontvangen van Cheryl Penn uit Zuid-Afrika, in deze prachtig getekende envelop. Die hagedis! Op deze ingescande afbeelding lijkt z'n rug geel, maar in werkelijkheid is het mooi geelgroen. En toevallig vormen turquoise, lichtgroen en zwart/wit een van mijn lievelings-kleurencombinaties!
En zie: Zalop staat erop!

Received from Cheryl Penn from South Africa, in this beautifully designed envelope. The lizard! On this scanned picture his/her back looks yellow, however in real it is beautiful light-green (how did you know that turqoise - light green - black/white form one of my favourite colour combinations?!). And note the Zalop!



Thank you very much, Cheryl!
And yes, as promised of course my 'original' Mona will follow... but please have a little more patience!..

Hout moet

Nèt iets smaller dan een ATC, dit kaartje. Met daarop een boomspruit, die toch mooi de houthakkers heeft doorstaan.
Niet helemaal zelf bedacht: de illustratie ontstond uit een combinatie van de Bomen-groep op de IUOMA website, en deze CD-hoes, van de prachtig mooie tekst-schrijvende Drentse zanger/componist/muzikant Daniël Lohues.

This card is a little smaller than an artist trading card. Showing the tree-offspring who resisted the tree feller, so far.
The idea came from a combination of the Trees group on the IUOMA network site, and the cover of this CD, by the Dutch (from Drenthe) singer/composer/musician Daniël Lohues, whose lyrics I think great.



Hieronder een detail van de envelop.
Verzonden (met die mooie cd natuurlijk) naar Guido.

Below a detail of the envelope.
Sent to Belgium, to Guido

Friour approved

Mooi 3-d effect op deze 2-d beschilderde envelop van Guido Vermeulen. De titel luidt: 'I am hungry aka Icecream in the night'.
Ontvangen met dank voor mijn bijdrage aan 'het boek van Ann' (zie onder).

Special 3-d effect on this 2-d envelope painted by Guido Vermeulen. The title is 'I am hungry aka Icecream in the night'.
Received with a 'thank you' note because of my contribution to the Book of Ann (see below).

Met informatie over andere mail art projecten (zie ook hieronder), en twee collages, waaronder deze:
Together with information about other mail art projects (see also below) and two collages, of which one you see here:



Èn het mysterie ontsluierd (tenminste, dat was 't voor mij tot voor kort) van het hoe en wat en waarom van de term 'Friour':
And, the mystery unveiled (that is, it was a mystery to me until now) about 'Friour':



Mail art projecten van Guido Vermeulen, onder andere:
Mail art projects of Guido Vermeulen, among others:

* Het nieuwe - 13e - FRIOUR project / the new - 13th - FRIOUR mail art project:
REBEL REBEL, movements of contestation
* Het 12e FRIOUR project / the 12th FRIOUR project: Het boek van Ann / The book of Ann
* Het project over Bomen / the project on Trees
* LAMUSAR collective blog: Art & Literature & Poetry & Music
* Kiekeboe van de Kiekjesdieven: a blog on snapshots
* Signs and Stones and Snakes, the 1999-2000 Snake millennium project. Nieuwe slang-mail art welkom / new snake mail art welcomed.
* Het 10e FRIOUR project / the 10th FRIOUR project:
Peace? You name it!

Hartelijk dank, Guido! Thanks a lot, Guido!




(mijn bank van Ann met boek van Ann - my 'bank' of Ann with book of Ann (the Dutch word 'bank' means 'couch'))

Zalop - Lopza

Is het graffity op een echte muur, of gewoon op een envelop?

Is this graffity on a real wall, or just on an envelope?



Hoe dan ook, 'Zalop' lijkt terrein te winnen, al klinkt 'Lopza' beter.
Verstuurd naar - in ieder geval een echte muur - de U.K.

Anyway, 'Zalop' seems to gain ground, although I prefer 'Lopza'.
Sent to - a real wall in - the U.K.

11-11-11

De elfde van de elfde in het jaar elf... Terwijl de kinderen 'Sint Maarten' lopen, wordt binnenshuis kunst gemaakt. En ik ben de gelukkige ontvanger! Dankjewel, Annemiek!

The 'elfde van de elfde in het jaar elf' / the eleventh of the eleventh in the year eleven (as in Dutch the word 'elf' means both 'elf' and 'eleven')...
While children are 'walking Sint Maarten' outside, inside the house mail art is made. And I'm the lucky receiver.
Thanks a lot, Annemiek!

Received from Dewi

Als antwoord op mijn reiger dit fraai geschilderde stilleven.
(De post voegde er kleine oranje streepjes aan toe, maar die zijn op de ingescande afbeelding helaas niet te zien.)

As an answer to my heron I received this fine water colour painting.
(The Post added some small orange lines, but these alas lost on the scan.)

Thank you very much, Dewi!

Received from Iita

Ik word verwend met alweer een mooie Postcrossing-verrassing!
Gemaakt door de 14-jarige Iita uit Finland, dit rake roodborstje in aquarel.

I am spoiled again, with such a beautiful Postcrossing surprise!
This remarkable robin has been made by Iita, 14 years old, who sent this watercolour painting from Finland.

Suurkiitos, Iita!