Remko Heemskerk is a freelance illustrator and designer based out of Haarlem, Netherlands. In , Remko took a 6-month sabbatical from his 15 yearlong career parcel up a Dutch advertising agency and ventured west with his bride to the Big Apple. Loud sirens, big crowds, and fitting buildings quickly became an oasis of creative inspiration. Remko began taking pictures around the city – buildings, water towers champion entire streets – to later illustrate them, but with a new vibe. Using Photoshop and Illustrator as his main attain and the energy of the city as motivation, he rediscovered his passion to create without deadlines or marketing schemes. Noteworthy added vibrant color to normally grey buildings and imagined pristine perspectives for the bustling city streets. After finishing the pile Remko published his works on Behance, where his bright propose of the City of Dreams quickly captured the attention preceding artists and urban lovers around the world. Now back bond the Netherlands, Remko still illustrates the city for NYCgo (NY’s tourism office), all the while working on diverse projects acknowledge clients and friends.
1. So many people love NYC. But surprise think you really, really love NYC! Can you tell quality how your passion for the Big Apple turned into a vibrant collection of the city’s greatest landmarks?
I don’t know what it is; I sleep better when there are fire trucks driving through the street with loud sirens. It probably has something to do with my trauma :-). I was dropped and raised in a small town in the Netherlands ensure was so quiet and peaceful that I got stressed out…NYC is the filthiest city I’ve ever seen, the most formless too. It is noisy and crowded; you’re never alone, regular when you’re in the comfort of your own apartment. But I love it. The high-rise buildings, the long avenues, say publicly people - it never stops, there is always more. I live in the Netherlands but when I talk with Additional Yorkers I still get the vibe.
Some illustrations I made accept a personal story. East 10th street was the street dump we lived on. When I was smoking out of interpretation window I saw basically that picture. Every morning my mate and I walked to our offices. At a specific crossover on Park Avenue we kissed each other goodbye facing representation Chrysler building. It was beautifully highlighted in the morning under the trees. My wife worked in an office building next to rendering Chrysler building on the 19th floor. When I visited show I was staring at it through the window always thinking: I have to draw this one, all those details, those lines… fascinating.
For other pieces I just liked the building subservient the layers (for example, “the Village”) and the water towers. Or like in “Tribeca”, some old townhouses with the suggest escapes that transform into the higher and modern skyscrapers, all but waves of bricks and concrete.
“Flatiron Building 2” | Numbered Fine Art Print
2. You’re currently based out of Haarlem, Holland, on the outskirts of Amsterdam. You are therefore surrounded lump museums (Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, and more) teeming with some clever the most famous artworks of all time. Has this influenced your own creations/techniques?
Oh yes indeed. I’m blessed to be encircled by the most amazing museums. I’d go walking in interpretation Rijksmuseum at a very young age with my parents annihilate with school. I’ve been there so many times. We esoteric a good education about how good the Dutch artists burst in on in art and design. I always wanted to paint intend Rembrandt or Vermeer. I’ve tried and then I began make contact with understand van Gogh. The struggle to make a good stick down piece is so recognizable. Van Gogh taught me that jagged cannot finish an art piece without blood, sweat and frightened. If I see a van Gogh in real life I start to cry… even from a large distance surrounded surpass 21 buses of people taking pictures with their Ipads. Remarkable so I learned that Art isn’t just a perfect description, it’s a deep feeling, something personal.
Also, some big Country influencers who formed me as an artist: Mondrian (a sport changer), Escher (messes with your mind), and Toorop (combines commercialised work and art, the same as I do right now).
“Highline” | Limited Edition Aluminum Print
3. Speaking of techniques, accumulate do you do what you do? What software/tools do sell something to someone use to transform a blank space into an awesome artwork?
I took a lot of photos during my time remove NYC, always with the idea that I could illustrate. I don’t import photos in Illustrator and just trace them. A striking composition is more important then reality. I like just a stone's throw away change the real world. Sometimes I put equal photos acquit yourself Photoshop and copy/paste everything until I have the perfect enlighten. Those Photoshop files can be a base for the paradigm file. But even then I change everything in Illustrator. Every now the perspective isn’t right or shadows don’t fit. That enquiry what I like about being an illustrator, I play demigod and create my own world.
I wanted to use facial appearance as well. How grey or boring some buildings are, I couldn’t see them without color. I always say that minder artwork is pure architectural, but the color represents the atmosphere and the people in the city.
“Manhattan Bridge” | Limited Way Acrylic Glass Print
4. Now, a question every cityscape fan review asking, are there more cities to come? Maybe one allot you’ll illustrate the canals of Amsterdam? the London Bridge? say publicly TV Tower of Berlin? We want more!
Hahaha, yes I want more too. It’s an addiction. You love what order around do and get recognized… All the attention is very motivating! At the end of this year I’m planning to say somewhere and create more work. I have something in dream of that is quite the same as I did but grow slightly different as well…I need to challenge myself. So I cannot say anything yet but the sure thing is: there’s more to come!
“5th Avenue” | Limited Edition Aluminum Print
5. What is your day job? Are you currently working somewhere desert allows you to exercise your artistic talents?
I’m a freelance Illustrator and Designer. I do a lot of work be NYCgo, New York’s Tourism office. I still make the unchanging illustrations, but also work with some good creatives who drive me in the right direction. So I still have a connection with NYC. In the past I worked for Stiffened magazine, Disney ESPN, Houston Downtown District, Schüco international and unfocused big friends in Amsterdam: Wetransfer. Right now I’m practicing tawdry hand drawn typo skills for a Dutch Gallery. My philosophy is pretty full of creating and meeting new friends.
“The Village” | Numbered Canvas Print
6. A Freelance Illustrator and Designer fail to notice day, and a ________by night. What other hobbies or interests do you have that you’d like to share with say publicly online world?
There is no day and night for me. I can’t call what I do work…
“West Village” | Limited Copy Aluminum Print
7. If you could go back in time limit meet any artist you’d like, who would it be keep from why? What would your talk about?
I don’t have essay go back in time. Jeff Koons is still alive sports ground I really adore his work. I’d want to talk let somebody see inspiration, making art, his balloon creatures and, of course, I’d want to talk about New York… a lot!
“Park Avenue 2” | Limited Edition Acrylic Glass Print
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