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.
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.
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.
HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED DRAWING/PAINTING?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MAXIME'S WORK, VISIT WWW.MAXIMEROKUS.NL OR CHECK OUT HER INSTAGRAM PAGES @MAXIMEROKUS & @BYMAXIMEROKUS