How was your weekend? Mine was filled with color and art, thanks to two side-by-side events in Haarlem: Stripdagen (Comics Days) and the Illustratie (Illustration) Biennale.
At the Illustratie Biennale, we found illustration collective Avier Koerier at work doing portraits for the public.
Avier Koerier specializes in doing portraits on A4 paper—thus the name, which translates to”A4 Courier.” Their little corner was peppered with their work, and I was immediately drawn (no pun intended) to their quirky, humorous style…
… and their hand-lettered signs, which were also good practice for my Dutch. I can tell you, with no help from Google Translate, that the sign on the right reads: “You run no risk!”
Marlon and I had our portraits sketched in Singapore a few years back, and thought it was time to add Dutch-drawn portraits to our little collection. So we forked over €10 for four different portraits, and sat down for a portrait session that turned out to be fast, friendly and fun.
The experience was light and casual, not awkward or stiff as you might expect a portrait session to be. After all, not everything in life should be taken so seriously—especially not on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
I’m pleased to present the artists of Avier Koerier and their five-minute masterpieces. Which one do you like best?
Top row: portraits by Anika Franke (who whimsically named us “Philip and Philip” from the Philippines) and Chiel te Bokkel, who captured the one-week tan that is already beginning to fade.
Bottom row: portraits by Anja Tubben, who has a very distinctive style indeed, and Marieke Heida, who caught a glimpse of the invisible ♡ that always hangs between Marlon and myself.
Marlon and I agreed that the last portrait by Marieke was our favorite. I think she gave us a kind of Parisian hipster flair that we would never have in real life, so she gets my award for Best Use of Artistic License!
Have you ever posed for a portrait? Did you like the outcome, and what was the experience like?
