Femke Hiemstra (; born 1974 in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

) is a Dutch

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Work

Hiemstra started as a freelance

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

for 10 years until her paintings became too elaborate for commissions and she transitioned into working primarily in

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

. Her work is usually categorized as pop surrealist or American lowbrow art, but she has said that the most accurate label for her work is "Neo-Fabulism" due to the anthropomorphic (see

Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

), and narrative-based subject matter. Despite her underground style, Hiemstra has been met with a dedicated fan base; most of her shows selling out within minutes of their announcement. Her

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

works are made with delicate layers of acrylic paint and color pencil on the surfaces of old books or other bric-a-brac objects. The themes are often mixtures of animals and comic characters, dark

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

settings and stylized

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

. * ''Carnival, or the Story of a Sad Hungry Bunny''. Antwerp, Bries, 2005 * ''Rock Candy''. With an overview of her work,

Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

, 2009, .

Education

1990-1994: School of Graphic Arts,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

1994-1997: Art Academy,

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

References

External links

Femke Hiemstra's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiemstra, Femke 1974 births Living people 21st-century Dutch women artists Dutch painters Dutch illustrators Dutch women illustrators Dutch surrealist artists Women surrealist artists Dutch women painters Artists from Zaanstad