Emmievb

It’s Giveaway time!! Share this post about ‘The Little Cloud’ to win a free illustrator signed copy! (uk delivery included) Make sure you are following and Tag this now with anyone who might like it and we will choose a winner next Sunday 12th November. You can tag as many people as you like.
A fun, colourful, rhyming tale for little ones under 5 about a mischievous, changing cloud whizzing through the sky on an adventure.

“I‘m free! I‘m free!” 
cried the little cloud with glee. 
“Free to be me! Wonderful me! 
Free to hear and see… 

By mixed media artist Emmie van Biervliet
Author Malcolm van Biervliet the idea came while “I lay on my back, high in the Alps gazing at playful white clouds chasing each other in an indigo blue sky.”

The book is also available at Amazon, Troubador, Blackwells, Foyles and Whsmiths.

‘The Little Cloud’ is NOW available to order online! A fun, colourful, rhyming tale for little ones under 5 about a mischievous, changing cloud whizzing through the sky on an adventure. It is a poetic fairy tale about feelings and adventures as this little cloud floats up from earth and it races through ever changing skies. Colourful, quirky illustrations. A father/ daughter collaboration. Find your copy at Blackwells , Whsmiths, Foyles or on Amazon. We would love it if you Share/ like/ Review!

We are pleased to say that ‘The Little Cloud’ is NOW available to order online! A fun, colourful, rhyming tale for little ones under 5 about a mischievous, changing cloud whizzing through the sky on an adventure. A father/ daughter collaboration. Find your copy from Blackwells (link below), Whsmiths, Foyles or on Amazon.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Little-Cloud-by-Malcolm-Biervliet-author-Emmie-van-Biervliet-artist/9781805141037

Troubador Publishing Blackwell's Bookshop

‘Havana Front’ mixed media on board 2017 started while out in Havana. As I was leaving Cuba having been there for a two month art residency I was pulled aside for questioning by officials. Where was the certificates for the half finished boards?! Looking with astonishment at the officials and wandering what trick they were trying to pull! Paperwork is necessary for all sorts of unusual things in Cuba usually filled out on an old fashioned typewriter very slowly. I did know that if I had bought some artwork from a Cuban I would need a certificate of transportation, this is so that local work is not taken out of country and artwork lost from the country, fair enough. I was pretty sure I didn’t need need anything for transporting board and paint and looking at the patchwork of colour and shapes I had created I found it hard to imagine someone was seeing this as artwork! After some lengthy discussion I was given a slap on the wrist and told to get a certificate next time! 🙃
In general however, they are very welcoming of artist, musicians and creatives as creating culture has always been seen as important in society… as long as you don’t get political but even then artists do manage to have a voice politically more than in other professions.

‘Cuba Libre’ -2011 - A very mixed media piece, what can you spot?!

‘The Little Cloud’ is Now available to order online! Preorder your copy from Whsmiths or Amazon. A fun, colourful, rhyming tale for little ones under 5 about a mischievous changing cloud.

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/the-little-cloud/malcolm-biervliet/emmie-biervliet/paperback/9781805141037.html?utm_campaign=eq_whs_575373&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=awin&awc=3017_1698058193_5c6eb826faaf6ec223c44d55a2ddc5b5

New children’s book project hitting the shelves this Autumn ‘The Little Cloud’ keep your eyes peeled for further info! Here is a sneak peak of it as it comes to life after lots of work over the last year. Its a story of a mischievous little cloud’s unexpected adventures in the sky. For 2-5 years olds an intriguing and whimsical rhyming tale. Watch this sky…. !

Here is a peak at some of the illustrations from ‘The Cabbage Who wished to have wings’

A poetic story about a seedling with two voices one of which is female the other male. It is cocooned in the soil and as it starts to grow contemplates about the world above. One side cannot wait to see all the wonderful things, the other worries about how vast and cold it will be and if it will be eaten by monsters. They start to be aware of many creatures, weird and wonderful coexisting in the soil around them. The two halves of the little cabbage sleep, dream and waited, one worried and the other hopeful.
Available from Amazon in hardback and soft back in the Uk and internationally.

Here is a peak at some of the illustrations from ‘The Cabbage Who wished to have wings’

A poetic story about a seedling with two voices one of which is female the other male. It is cocooned in the soil and as it starts to grow thinking about the world above. One side cannot wait to see all the wonderful things, the other worries about how vast and cold it will be and if it will be eaten by monsters. They start to be aware of many creatures, weird and wonderful coexisting in the soil around them. The two halves of the little cabbage sleep, dream and waited, one worried and the other hopeful.
Available from Amazon in hardback and soft back in the Uk and internationally.

A unique father / daughter illustrated collaboration. A quirky, quietly humorous tale of a seedling with two voices one female and the other male.

Ignite your Childs imagination
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cabbage-who-wished-have-wings/dp/1739659511/

Last orders on the hardcopy NOW before Christmas.
All royalties from book sales are going to a uk conservation project. Available in the Uk and Internationally.

Quite afew years ago I was involved in a project making a piece that would celebrate the adoption of a little girl from Pakistan and her journey coming to the Uk with her parents. This was a journey piece and would be to help her visualise her journey from East to West. It would combine fun elements but also be created so she would enjoy it as she grew up.

This latest piece is one of the most intricate pieces I have worked on full of details and memories but a similar starting point. The concept was a life journey piece that of celebrating a couple’s lives intertwining and their combined heritage. I did approach it with some trepidation as there was so much that I wanted to include in it and quite a few contrasting scenes. The question was how to make those work together and flow in this journey piece and a couple of different pre plans were made. They wanted to celebrate their linked Indian and Kenyan heritage. The Indian part is shown as the Golden temple to the far right. As you look across the piece it gets more up to date up to the present day.
The use of trees in the piece is with the idea of family roots transcending people’s journey through life. Integrated in layered memories are significant landmarks in their lives including places of study, their engagement and wedding. Later on shared holidays with their children and some of the extensive travelling including places like Japan, Portugal, Paris and Kenya. Mount Fuji can be seen on the right hand side which they all climbed few years ago.
Birds represent the coming together and morphing of the family from a couple to four exploring the world together.

‘House on the Hill’ painted in France as Spring started to creep through from Winter and the light caught the side of our neighbours house. Using earth, paper and acrylics.
This piece is going to be shown the starting on Tuesday as part of .youth

‘Season changing in Italian village’ will be on show next week in London. It is a mixed media experimental piece capturing different seasons in a small mountain village. 20x20cm
The piece is currently winging its way to for a great show Tuesday-Friday with an eclectic range of work from a number of painters and makers and raises funds towards the fantastic charity .youth. Check it out at there on still tickets available next week.

We are still absolutely over the moon about this little bundle of life coming into our lives three months ago! Barely a foot tall and has us wrapped around her little finger.
‘Célestine’
26th August 2021

Final tweaks to a piece based on Falmouth I like the way the houses are layered ontop of each other, in some cases quite different styles but all looking out over the harbour. I sketched this during the day to see some of the details and what was where but was particularly inspired by the scene at night and the lights twinkling like dolls houses on the hill side. The scene looked totally different to that during the day but serene at the same time. Reminded me of Rachel Whiteread’s installation of dolls houses lit up in a darkened exhibition room and you felt like a giant walking through the scene.

Working on the latest commission which is a life journey piece, this is a large scale piece full of details and memories. The use of trees in the piece is with the idea of family roots transcending people’s journeys through life. Starting one side with the Golden temple in India to spring time walking surrounded by bluebells at the other.

It all came from a conversation… Here are some details from a large commission that I have been working on for awhile. This piece emalgamates many contrasting scenes and interests. This was a lovely project to be part but I did approach it with some trepidation as there was so much that I wanted to include in it. The question was how to make those work together and flow in this journey piece and a couple of different pre plans were made. It is for a couple who wanted to celebrate their Indian and Kenyan heritage as well as places they studied, memorable moments in their lives, travel and spending time with their children.

Part of the fun of making a piece is the research stage. Finding out as much as you can about what the place or subject matter that you going to paint is so you have an understanding and a feel for it whether you are going there or not. For this last project this was definitely the case, partly based on Pakistan I learnt all sorts of things including how the lorries are transformed into mobile artworks! No space is left blank, even the wheels are included in the artists design. In the past good transported good along hazardous trading routes were carried by camels and donkeys which were often adorned with embroidered silks. The decorative aspect has evolved into genuine naive folk art with all sorts of imaginative images including of fearsome animals in opulent gardens, tanks with soldiers carrying guns or mountains and seascapes of lighthouses.
There is often keen competition amongst the truck drivers for the best designs. Most truck art businesses are passed down in the family. The style of painting is influenced by the 1950s Western commercial art . The paint with enamel working from photos and using templates. Some artists specialise in only painting a certain areas of the truck such as the metal work or perspex. Owners are prepared to pay large amounts to skilled painters and craftsmen who will convert their fantasies into realities.

Painting a commission is tricky, what to put in and what to leave out? How will the colours and composition work together, will the different themes that you are putting in work together and flow. So nice to hear when it does came together.
The project here was really interesting it was about the adoption of a little girl into the family from Pakistan. I was able to add details to the piece while Saira was in Karachi adding to the story as it uncovered. The piece is a storyboard style celebratory and fun about the little girls journey as she came to the Uk and apparently she can now use it to explain her story.
Now working on several commissions where I'm having a chance to relive the piece and research India and Pakistan.

Saira Khan's emotional artwork brings fans to tears Saira Khan house: Loose Women star Saira moved her Instagram followers to tears when she unveiled a very sentimental painting at her Oxford home.

This is a detail from the piece ‘Back of the bizarre’. I happened to find a postcard from ‘Ali’ the owner and maker in this shop. It reads ‘your best friend when you want to buy jewellery.’ And I wish I had. He made beautiful pieces, stones of all colours, large striking work. However, what I remember the most was him telling us about the stories of the Bizarre which seemed to mix truth with fantasy.
It winged its way to a new home, lovely to have been part of exhibition for another year running. 35% goes to the charity. Now in its final days but still some work available so check it out.
This piece was started on an art and research trip through Europe to Istanbul and finally Cappadocia documenting the changing architecture from East to West. A suitcase of art materials and time to sketch at each stop over the years pieces have morphed and been created from the materials and inspiration sourced at the time. Loved this scene, it wasn’t the majestic front but the hustle and bustle at the back where you have to make imagine what conversations are happening around you.

This piece ‘Back of the bizarre’ has winged its way to a new home, lovely to have been part of exhibition for another year running. 35% goes to the charity. Now in its final days but still some work available so check it out.
This piece was started on an art and research trip through Europe to Istanbul and finally Cappadocia documenting the changing architecture from East to West. A suitcase of art materials and time to sketch at each stop over the years pieces have morphed and been created from the materials and inspiration sourced at the time. Loved this scene, it wasn’t the majestic front but the hustle and bustle at the back where you have to make imagine what conversations are happening around you, spices getting shipped in from far off near and a buzz in the air.

‘Moonlight Domes’ 54x26 inched framed size. This piece is showing and available with but only for a couple of days more. This is a really great exhibition that takes place each year usually in The Mall Galleries. 35% goes to an umbrella organisation supporting many impressive youth charities around the country.
The piece is based on Samarkand at the heart of the Silk Route with some of the most elaborate architecture and tile work I have ever seen surrounded by semi desert. This was particularly impressive when spot lit at night and almost felt like a dream being there . Initial sketches were made while I was there a couple of years ago and the piece finally came together this year.

New work! Postcard sized pieces with a glint of another world

Mixed media on board 14.5x11 cm Recently made work, cut, collaged and painted. Now Sold

These pieces are based on two places both with spectacular architecture in Rajasthan in India. On Pushkar which has a lake surrounded by sacred temples and hosts a camel trading festival at the full moon in November where hundreds or even thousands of people make their way to the town. They are also inspired by Udaipur known for its lake with an ornate palace and surrounded by detailed domed buildings, temples and Havailis the traditional houses. The city makes up the golden triangle which includes Delhi and the Taj Mahal. It is perhaps no coincidence that both these places are regarded as sacred, after all water is life particularly in India
These pieces are part of the artist pledge scheme.

New work! Postcard sized pieces with a glint of another world

Mixed media on board 14.5x11 cm Recently made work, cut, collaged and painted. Now Sold

These pieces are based on two places both with spectacular architecture in Rajasthan in India. On Pushkar which has a lake surrounded by sacred temples and hosts a camel trading festival at the full moon in November where hundreds or even thousands of people make their way to the town. They are also inspired by Udaipur known for its lake with an ornate palace and surrounded by detailed domed buildings, temples and Havailis the traditional houses. The city makes up the golden triangle which includes Delhi and the Taj Mahal. It is perhaps no coincidence that both these places are regarded as sacred, after all water is life particularly in India.

Emmie is an experimental mixed media architectural artist who sources materials en route from recycled materials and creates intricately layered pieces through collage and paint.

These pieces are part of the artist pledge scheme.

The final day of Oxfordshire Artweeks was yesterday though artists work will stay online. Papped in the Oxford Mail. Thank you to the Artwork team and artists involved who did an amazing job taking what would have been a very social show 'online'.

To friends celebrating Eid I’m sure its not be like one before before but hope you are celebrating and wishing you a and

Bathing by Moonlight, India’ and details from a new piece of work based on a commission title I was set afew years ago which was ‘I want to travel in a painting’. Feeling this more than ever over the last few weeks with confinement and altering of plans further afield. So the recent work has been depicting the feeling of the faraway in paint and mixed media. The work has memories of India, the intricate details of Rajasthan and its sacred temples and the experiences of travelling through the tribal areas in the Thar desert. There is a camel festival in the temple town of Pushkar in Rajasthan, India in November people flock to the town to sell their produce, not just camels but everything you can imagine. They are often wearing their best clothes as it is also quite a religious occasions with women wearing saris of every colour, as well as visiting the temples, they will traditionally bathe in the sacred lake here. I have kept returning to the scenes here in paint. This piece is hot off the press and now available. 35x100cm on board. Please DM for further info.

Check out this new mixed media collection of pieces inspired by different corners of the world from colourful communities of Guatemala, to the eclectic landscape of India and the intricate arches and doorways of Italy. The pieces are on wood made from a variety of materials including coffee, beads, papers and a little gold leaf in parts and amongst other things. They are all under £200 and available now.
There will be some more work, segments inspired by other lands, coming soon on fb and insta so please keep your eyes peeled if interested. I mainly work on large scale pieces now but have a limited collection of small scale work on my website at http://emmievb.com/gallery/ Please drop me a DM or email to reserve. And Please share! Thanks 🙏
This is pieces are part of the
The concept is a simple one. Artist post images of their work on Instagram or Facebook which they are willing to sell for no more than £200 each (not including shipping) Every time they reach £1000 of sales they pledge to buy another artist’s work for £200. .

The Art of Adventure - from OX Magazine Read about The Art of Adventure on OXMag.co.uk. For articles of the highest quality on all things Oxfordshire.

Check out these 7 awesome creative projects youngsters https://www.atthebus.org.uk/art-projects/
Here is one I made earlier from wood and stones:
Shame I always loose at chess though!

Thanks to Quantum Contemporary Art for showing my work at Battersea Art Fair last weekend. 'London Light' Mixed media 40x60cm and 'Camel Nights' approx 40x80cm

Excited to receive a couple of copies of 'Cadere' by a Cuban writer 'Carlos Manuel Alvarez' named in Mexico as one of Latin Americas 20 best writers. It is about the trials and tribulations of Cuban life, the book is hot off the press by an Italian publication 'Sur'
A part of the picture has been used which is also available as a Limited edition Giclee print 'Street Life' based on the famous Malecon beach front buildings in Havana. 'Layered Memories is also available, the life on the inside pictured on the outside. Please enquire for more details.

Finally made it down to The Tate Ives minus the tourists for a spectacularly windy weekend, loved it! Thanks to

Experimenting with a new studio set, small and bumpy at times but makes working on the move easier to have a dedicated workspace where ideas can be added to at any opportunity. Here painting some of the awe inspiring volcanic islands passed en route in the Canary Islands, doing some colour studies but also getting drawn back to the dilapidated buildings of Havana.

Details from some of the new collection of work showing this Autumn with Quantum Gallery based on the eclectic beautiful old architecture of France, Italy and London. Small scale pieces made while on the move and witnessing scenes of people going about their everyday lives.

This piece is based on a commission for a lovely couple that I met in Uzbekistan Central Asia a couple of years ago. The buildings in themselves we will never forget, however, it can be difficult to do some things including landscapes and very elaborate buildings justice in a painting. You can try to capture an essence of what was there, or a moment or a feeling. The piece was based on their journey.

The ‘Registran’ in Samarkand which is the main building in the picture was like a mystical bejewelled place particularly at night where clever lighting accentuates the colours, pictures and angles. In the North- east the ancient city of Afrosiab had been destroyed by Gengis Khan in 13th century. However here a large amount of the buildings here have been renovated, to quite a large extent. Described by UNESCO as “situated at the crossroads of ancient cultures, are masterpieces of Islamic cultural creativity. The buildings, art and urban structure were really influential and inspired many buildings in the region but also much further afield into the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent…”

If you look more closely you maybe able to see a market scene, a tiger inlaid into the building and Krgy elders in pointy hats!