Loes van Delft: Following Her Heart
With work described as cartoonish, bright, and positive, Loes van Delft is also noted for the creation of her character Pjipje. Describing her inspiration as straight from the heart.
Loes says that it all began in her earliest years, and that level of honesty and happiness still informs her work. “Drawing is something I’ve always loved to do. I used to go to a Montessori school. I could spend the time the way I wanted to. While others were focusing on math or geography, I was always drawing. My father regularly took me to museums and galleries. This is where it all started, I thought ‘This is what I really want to do’. Drawing and painting have become my life.”
Loes van Delft' Character Pjipje
She credits her youth and gender with a lot of her style, explaining that the urban and comic scene is “a bit of a men world. As a woman, my approach is rather different. I love to work with soft colors. In my paintings, there is no macho message like violence or guns. It might give me a bit of an advantage. Though I don’t have the idea that because I am a woman, people take me less seriously. I frequently get compliments of people who like that I’m a woman in this art scene. It flatters me. But I just do what I do. It’s just something I can’t change. I don’t have a say in it.”
Definitively stating she is not a street artist, she admits that there is overlap in the urban and comic work she does. Describing the surfaces and lines, as well as the incorporation of text, she claims it as a style for the young, saying “It’s a style that is predominantly practiced by young artists who sense and translate what is relevant right now. Not too long ago I participated in an exhibition where all the three styles were exhibited. I had the honor to be invited to an exhibition in Palacio Santa Barbara in Madrid, Spain, together with big names like Banksy, Shepard Fairy, Mr. Brainwash, D*Face, Blek le Rat and others.”
Those already familiar with graffiti street art will recognize some of the biggest names in that area, including Banksy and Mr. Brainwash. When asked if it is a goal to head in that direction, she once again returns to that theme of painting from her heart. “What I paint comes from the heart, like creativity does. I just paint what feels good to me. I don’t think a painting needs to have an underlying thought.”
Loes van Delft
This is not in line with a lot of the contemporary graffiti art and abstract art that does have a great deal of significance and commentary built into its design. While she admits that her work is designed to make others happy through the use of “bright colors and sweet, sort of enchanting figures,” she is also surprised at the breadth of her audience.
As a contemporary artist, though, she should not be shocked as her main channel for publicity is the internet and social media staple, Facebook, where she posts almost daily.
When serving as an ambassador for the Affordable Art Fair a few years earlier, she said her work is “cartoon pop art,” and inspired by the work of contemporary abstract artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, “but I also find inspiration from great animation houses like Disney and Warner Brothers, and classic video games like Super Mario.”
Realistically, all of her inspirations are authentic abstract artists working in ways that generate emotion and inspire. Her innovation and her creativity have given her a global following, and it will be exciting to see where her heart takes her (and her fans) next.
Loes van Delft x Louis Vuitton