The pencil sketch for this pen drawing was made in February 2020, when we were on Ameland during a storm tide with a full moon.
Storm Ciara came over the Netherlands, the sand scoured our skin and in our cottage it was an amazing noise. One morning I went to the beach. The water sloshed against the poles and also came over the bridge behind the café.
There I was, with my cup of hot drink, watching all that violence. This sketch was further developed this year into a pen drawing in 'Clear line' drawing style.
Despite the fact that the tremendous waves and wind were making an enormous noise, the situation calmed me down. We could not go home: no boat traffic was possible; we were really stranded in our cottage. There was no room for anything but the waves, the wind and the beach. It wasn't until the very last day of our week's vacation that the wind died down, and it was suddenly deafeningly quiet.
This illustration visualizes the inner peace associated with the violence of the sea.
"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
Ilse, illustrator & graphic designer, designs books for a living. The illustrations she makes for book covers, but also her free work, have been converted into poster format and are now for sale at werkaandemuur!.. Read more…