OCTOBER
MAXIME ROKUS
OUR FIRST ARTIST OF THE MONTH IS MAXIME ROKUS, AN AMSTERDAM-BASED ILLUSTRATOR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND CREATIVE ALL-ROUNDER, WHO HAS DONE FREELANCE WORK FOR A WIDE RANGE OF ESTABLISHED COMPANIES AND BRANDS.
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IF YOU LIVE IN AMSTERDAM, CHANCES ARE YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE SEEN HER WORK BEFORE, BECAUSE SHE IS ON BILLBOARDS AND SIGNS ALL OVER THE CITY - SHE EVEN DESIGNED OUR COMPANY LOGO.
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BESIDES HER COMMISSIONED PROJECTS, SHE ALSO CREATES HER OWN PIECES - WHICH CAN BE BOUGHT ON HER WEBSITE AND IN SEVERAL STORES IN AND AROUND AMSTERDAM.
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HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED DRAWING/PAINTING?
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MY MOM HAS PROUDLY KEPT A FRAMED ILLUSTRATION OF MINE
IN HER LIVING ROOM SINCE FROM WHEN I WAS ABOUT THREE YEARS OLD.
MY TEACHER AT THE TIME HAD APPARENTLY TOLD HER THAT I WAS
HIGHLY SKILLED FOR MY AGE AND THAT I COULD VERY WELL
GROW UP TO BE AN ARTISTIC TALENT.
ACCORDING TO THE TEACHER, I NOTICED CERTAIN
DETAILS THAT MY PEERS WEREN'T YET NOTICING.
I SUPPOSE YOU COULD SAY I STARTED AROUND THAT AGE.
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AT AGE 16 I STARTED CREATING MY COMMISION-BASED ILLUSTRATIONS
AND PAINTINGS, WHICH THEN SLOWED DOWN A BIT WHEN I MOVED TO AMSTERDAM: MAINLY DUE TO LACK OF SPACE - AS WELL AS OTHER DISTRACTIONS...
AT AGE 20 I STARTED BUILDING MY CURRENT NETWORK, WHICH HAS PROVIDED ME WITH A STEADY STREAM OF ASSIGNMENTS SINCE THEN.
MORE RECENTLY, HOWEVER, I HAVE STARTED FOCUSSING ON MY OWN
WORK AGAIN.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?
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I WOULD SAY THAT MY BEST WORK IS (HYPER) REALISTIC PORTRAITS
AND ILLUSTRATIONS - BUT I DON'T NECESSARILY FIND THOSE THE MOST
STUNNING OR SUITABLE TO HANG ON A WALL.
I ALSO RECENTLY STARTED EXPERIMENTING WITH MORE MINIMALISTIC STYLES - SO RIGHT NOW YOU COULD SAY THAT I'M STILL KIND OF
SEARCHING AND DEVELOPING.
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WHAT MATERIAL/EQUIPMENT DO YOU LIKE TO USE?
UP UNTIL LAST SUMMER I CREATED ALL MY ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAND - BUT I'VE RECENTLY SWITCHED TO USING AN IPAD PRO AND A PENCIL, A DECISION I HAVE BEEN REALLY HAPPY WITH.
AS FOR SOFTWARE: I USE A PROGRAMME CALLED PROCREATE
FOR DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION, SKETCHING AND PAINTING.
THE CREATORS HAVE FOUND A WAY TO PERFECTLY COMBINE A DIGITAL AND ANALOG FEEL.
IT LETS YOU USE OVER 130 TYPES OF BRUSHES AND TOOLS, WHICH GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM TO WORK ON ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT MEDIA - WITH EFFECTS LIKE CHARCOAL, PENCIL AND WATERCOLOR.
USING THE IPAD ALSO ALLOWS ME TO WORK ON THE FLY - WHETHER I'M IN THE TRAIN OR ON THE BEACH - PROVIDING ME WITH A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?
I'M A BIG FAN OF ASTRID WILSON, SELLA MOLENAAR AND
MAJA KRSTIC.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MUSEUM?
I ENJOY VISITING FOAM - I FIND PHOTOGRAPHY REALLY INTERESTING. THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE, THOUGH.
THERE'S ALWAYS A GOOD EXHIBITION GOING ON.
WHERE CAN PEOPLE SEE/PURCHASE YOUR ART?
YOU CAN BUY MY PRINTS ON MY WEBSITE (WWW.MAXIMEROKUS.NL) AND AT THE STORE 'HUTSPOT'
ON THE ROZENGRACHT AND THE VAN WOU STRAAT IN AMSTERDAM.
THERE'S ALSO A REALLY CUTE STORE IN EDAM THAT SELLS
SOME OF MY ART.
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DO YOU HAVE ANY COOL UPCOMING PROJECTS THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?
I'VE DECIDED TO OFFER MY UPCOMING (NEW) COLLECTION AS A LIMITED EDITION (1/10) - WHICH WILL MAKE EACH PRINT A LITTLE MORE SPECIAL.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MAXIME'S WORK, VISIT WWW.MAXIMEROKUS.NL OR CHECK OUT HER INSTAGRAM PAGES @MAXIMEROKUS & @BYMAXIMEROKUS
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