UPPER PLAYGROUND

ALL CREATIVITY IS BORN IN THE QUALITY OF PLAY

THE ART OF PLAY

THE CREATIVE POWER OF PLAY

THE FREEDOM TO CREATE WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

IN THE UPPER PLAYGROUND

UPPER PLAYGROUND

THE ART OF PLAY & THE FREEDOM TO CREATE WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

THE CREATIVE POWER OF CHANGE

In 2014 I picked up my brush, pencil and pen again, after not having used it for a long time. Drawing, painting and writing gave me amazing ways to release my emotions and going through the changes. My creativity started to explode.
I first started experimenting with pencil-drawings of famous black & white portret photographs (of Anton Corbijn mostly), which helped me to develop my own detailed drawing-style. My acryl-paintings were mostly figurines in different emotional states and postures in the beginning, and later on more Poparty.

My pencil drawings

My Art on Instagram

My portfolio

THE FREEDOM TO CREATE WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

After having worked in the publishing industry for 15 years as a marketeer and publisher, I started my company UPPER PLAYGROUND (which is now solely my artist name) in 2018 for freelance projects on marketing, publicity and events for authors & publishers, and to have more time for my own work as an artist. In 2022 I decided to solely focus on my art. I’m now daily painting, spray painting, writing, drawing, creating my up-cycle pieces (mostly leather, clothes and bags now) and bracelets and necklaces, and just starting out with ceramics and woodworking.

THE CREATIVE POWER OF ART

I’m interested in, influenced by, inspired by, love to work with Streetart and Urban Art, Japanese Superflat, Popart, Urban Vinyl Art and 3D art, manga and tattoo-art. I’ve always been fascinated with streetart. I seek for it wherever I am. In my own neighbourhood, when I walk around in my own city (Amsterdam) and when I’m traveling. I always seem to know where to find it, wherever I am. On lampposts and signposts, on bridges and structures, in those side-streets nobody seems to be interested in, whole streets full dedicated to streetart. The beauty, the fun, the meaning, the messages, the call for action, the call for change.

MY WORK AS A SPAYPAINTER

I love streetart, stencilart, tags and graffiti art. I myself started out using spraypaint only on paper and canvas, still being a bit shy for trying it out on the street. I used to visit an amazing spraypaint shop in Amsterdam, Henxs, just for looking at their collection of colours of their spraypaint cans and posca markers, and their skateboard clothes. Always made me happy. My favourite shops have always been the ones that combine (street)art, books, music (preferably with someone behind a turntable) , graphic novels, vinyl art and skateboard fashion and accessories. That’s where the groove is. Anywhere in the world.

One day I just asked the guy behind the counter of Henxs to set me up with a starter-kit for spraypainting. He gave me some tips on how to spraypaint at home (water basis), some sjablones to try out, and six colours of spraypaint. And I was lost. For half a year I spraypainted in all my free time. Trying out different materials, from different sorts and colours of paper, like crazy rolls of wallpaper, Japanese paper, sandpaper, sun bleach-paper, carbon paper, and fabrics, boxes, vinyl art poppets, and of course canvas and canvas board.

I design my stencils and sjablones using acrylpaint and Posca marker. First I try out different designs on paper, then I create a stencil from plastic and start experimenting with the design for a while with spraypaint. I now often use those designs again as a base for my canvas acrylpaint portraits.

Click on the links below to see some of my series of spraypaintings: Andy Warhol, Clint Eastwood, Salvador Dali, Miles Davis and Frida Kahlo, ‘Faces’, ‘Serious Man’, ‘Skull Art‘, ‘Gorillaz‘, ‘Self Portret‘.

My paintings

My Art on Instagram

My portfolio

MY WORK AS A PAINTER – STARTING OUT

In 2014 I started experimenting with pencil-drawings of the amazing black & white portret-photo’s of Anton Corbijn, which helped me to discover and develop my portret-skills. A year later, again with the help of a wonderful artshop that unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore, I set myself up with 10 different colours of acrylpaint (I don’t mix myself), 10 brushes and some good quality paper. My paintings were then mostly figures (I cannot really call them human 🙂 ). I just put the brush down to see where it ends up. And then experimented a bit with postures and emotions. They are very cute, and or strange, and or funny, and I still love looking at them.

I LOVE POSCA

I really love working with acrylpaint Posca markers. I of course use it to make spraypaint stencils, but also love to use it to create the first designs of new ideas I have. I now use it in almost all my paintings, combined with spraypaint, acrylpaint and wasco.

‘click here for my Posca Black & White Popart series’

UPPER PLAYGROUND SIGNED UP!

In 2022 I decided to solely focus on my art and stopped my projects for publishers and authors. I’m now daily painting, spray painting, writing, drawing, creating my up-cycle pieces (mostly leather, clothes and bags now) and bracelets and -necklaces, and just starting out with ceramics and woodworking.
I work mostly from my own home in Amsterdam. Two days a week I work in an atelier or studio that I share with four other artists in a wonderful creative neighbourhood with other painters, designers, woodworkers and musicians.

MY STENCIL ART AND COLLAGE ART ON CANVAS

I experiment a lot with the combination of text and images and with bits and pieces from magazines, paint left-overs, pieces I find on the street (like a dented BMW emblem that is now an earring), combined with acrylpaint, spraypaint, posca marker, glitter powder and glue, you name it. I never know where I will end up. A wonderful proces.

My paintings

My Art on Instagram

My portfolio

MY ACRYLIC PORTRAITS ON CANVAS

I’m painting quite a lot of portraits now-a-days. I start out with a rough sketch on the canvas using wasco pencil and then put layer over layer of acryl paint over each-other. Until it is … finished, which it never really is. The canvasses I use now are mostly 70 x 50 and 80 x 60 cm. The wonder of the moment the face really appears is still amazing. Just let accidents happen and you’ll end up with your own one-eyed holy man 🙂

My paintings

My Art on Instagram

My portfolio

MY PIECES – MY UNSHACKLE BRACELETS AND NECKLACES

I started creating bracelets and necklaces when I lost the shackle of one of my ‘freedom’ bracelets of the Dutch brand Pig & Hen (see first picture). Very sad moment. Because I love them a lot (I have three). They stand for my freedom and I call them my unshackle bracelets. So I looked in my toolbox and sewing box for something that I could use as a ‘fixture’. I got a bit carried away and before I knew it I had created three bracelets myself, using rope, buttons and different kinds of fixtures and buckles. Loved making them and loved how they looked. Kind of cool!

So that’s how my bracelet-making-spree, and then my necklaces, started. I went on to visit all kinds of bead-shops (they’re crazy!) and button-shops in Amsterdam and visit second hand markets. Did you know that in bead-shops it is normal that you note down all the beads and their prices that you put in your little basket? Well, I didn’t. Of course I had a very full little basket, so I had to go back and look up all the prices and count the beads. But well…

My pieces

My Art on Instagram

My portfolio