ELINE JETTEN

Name: Eline Jetten
Age: 19
Country: The Netherlands
Website: http://studenten.wdka.nl/~0812244/ and lienertje.deviantart.com

At which age did you start creating art? And why do you feel compelled to create?
I was very young when I started drawing. The exact age I don’t recall though. I do know that I was only four years old when I drew an abstract bird. Sadly not on purpose. When I was young I didn’t spend a lot of time on the computer nor television. So in my free time and in elementary school, I drew. My mother used to give us -me and my older sister- toys that would still need some imagination. Like a toy kitchen but without the plastic food, so we could still make and invent something. I can recall making paper lasagna for the dollhouse.

What are you inspired by? And who do you look up to?
I’m inspired by my whole Art Academy in general. I love to see what other people in my class make. I also love browsing through deviantart. There are so many great artists there. Once you go to someone’s favorites you can just go on and on for hours passing through to their favorite’s favorites etcetera. Famous artists I like are Egon Schiele, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and the drawings from Oskar Kokoschka, David Hockney and Andy Warhol. Oh, and Picasso was a genius too.

Which influential artist would you like to ask for advice?
They still have to live, right? Then I would say Marlene Dumas. I only discovered her recently. She lives in the Netherlands, so that’s a bonus. I would like to see how she paints. I love her smooth looking blended colors. I would also like to know how she decides what she’s going to make. I know she has a large image collection.

If you had to put up one piece of artwork on your wall and stare at it for a year, who would it be by and why?
I have the same poster on my wall for two years now and I still like it. It’s Marcella (1910) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. I bought it at the Brücke-Museum in Berlin. If I had to change it however I would like something by Schiele. Which one I don’t know. I find it to hard to pick just one favorite. I would also like something as James Ensor’s Christ's Entry into Brussels (1888). Just because there‘s always something new to discover.

Tell us about your creative process.
I recently started collecting books of artists and photo books. It’s really nice if you don’t know what to draw. You just look at the pictures and inspiration will come. We also have a subject at art school called Idea development. We have to find and make photos and glue them in a sketchbook. By looking at the pictures we chose and the connections between them we see what interests us.

Do you ever find weird connections between life and art?
I almost always draw things that are alive. People or animals living. My ideas sometimes come from things that happened to me. I would like to be able to draw from life experiences and dreams. I just find it a little hard drawing without visual reference.

As an artist, are you Technical or passionate? (Do you lose yourself in the work or do you make precise decisions?)
I think I tend to be a bit more technical than passionate. Because I am always scared of ruining a piece, I always scan it when I’ve done the outline. This way I can always print the linework and start over again. Most time I do the coloring in Photoshop because of this problem. If the work already starts ruined or isn’t important I color it traditionally.

How do you determine when a work is finished? Or is it ever finished?
For school I just think of the amount of time that I have. I don’t want to make things to difficult to achieve within a short deadline. For my free work; it’s finished when I don’t know what to do to it anymore. Or if I think I’m going to ruin it if I’d continue. It always difficult to stop at the right time.

Do you think there are boundaries you would never cross in your art making?
I don’t think I will ever do anything like the Wiener Aktionisten. I think that’s just a little bit too sick.

What frightens you most about your art?
If I can’t reach the same level as something I’ve made earlier. I don’t want my art to stagnate. When this happens I can’t really draw anymore because there’s too much pressure. It’s a slippery slope.

Do you have any magic cures for creative blocks?
Just don’t make anything for a while. Leave your art for what it is and do different things. Go to a museum, watch a movie, browse through Flickr, search for artists on the internet, collect pictures. You will get the need to start making something soon. Another approach is trying to remake an artwork you like. This way you learn different techniques.

Do you dream about your artwork?
I’ve never done so. But then, I’m really bad at remembering my dreams. So maybe I did!

Which of your own works are you most proud of/ is most meaningful to you and why?
My recent self-portrait. I’m proud I made it using only a mirror and pencils. I also like the fact it looks quite real and technically ok. As always I colored it using Photoshop.

Which art mediums and brands do you prefer to use?
I have colored pencils by Derwent. I have both the new coloursoft ones as some old ones they hardly sell anymore. They are actually my mother’s and called Cumberland. They are nice and give great colors. I don’t use much paint. If I do it’s usually just cheap paint. My linework is usually done with black ballpoint called BIC Velocity.

What kind of art education do you have? Do you think it is important?
I am just finishing my first year of Illustration in Rotterdam. It’s not necessary to follow art education but I do recommend it. You learn how to get ideas, to promote your own work, how to make money out of your art and all those kind of things. Art school is also nice for talking to other people about art and other things. You can motivate them and they can motivate you. You get opinions about your work and how you can make it more interesting. What’s really nice, is that they are all people with the same kind of interests.

What kind of career do you ultimately want? And what kind of career do you think you'll end up having (or already have) realistically?
I would like a career that will stimulate me to try different things. I don’t want to be doing the same thing over and over again. I would like to be a wide range illustrator with a broad field of interests. I would also like to do things as Art Direction for movies.

Is your family supportive of your art? Who influenced and nurtured your creativity most?
They are now. At first they were worried that I could not find a job in the art world and take care of myself by being an illustrator. My school is rather interested in money, so we do learn something about finances. My mother went to art school as well. She always tried to teach me things even when I wouldn’t listen. My dad is interested in photography. He knows everything about cameras and lenses.

Which direction do you see your art heading in the future?
That’s a difficult question. I would like to be good at more than one thing. I would love to be a great photographer, painter, sculptor or maybe even a filmmaker. I don’t want to only be able to draw images. I would like using different techniques; collage, assemblage, ceramics and more paint.

Who are some of your heroes outside of the visual art stream?
That would be Arjan Ederveen and Tosca Niterink. They made lovely programs on Dutch television in the 80’s and 90’s. As a duo they made a program called Creative with Cork, ridiculing DIY programs. They are great comical talents.