New commission 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'

On january 10th I congratulated Peter with his birthday by sending him a quick message with my phone and thanking him for the art projects he commissioned in 2015 en 2016. He replied by requesting 'something nice' as a farewell gift for manager Rogier who just had left Dutch communications provider KPN.

It was never my intention to get a new commission but I was honored and excited to make a new artwork for KPN. Especially because Rogier was someone I knew, liked and had been pleasantly working for, for quite some time, as a freelance UX Designer.

Tight deadline

The project had one major challenge. Time. The farewell party was in about two weeks. It meant I had to sacrifice my newly fitness routine and probably a substantial amount of sleep to win some precious time. I really didn't mind. Making art is more important than a lean and mean body, :)

Keep calm and...

Directly after getting the assignment, I sent an e-mail to a few former co-workers of Rogier asking for a character description that could complement my own experiences with Rogier. One of them, Sanne, soon replied with some very usefull tips and that inspired me to the title and text in the illustration 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'. Rogier stays calm and seemingly relaxed and focused in stressfull situations, hence the part 'Keep calm and...'. One thing I didn't know was the passion for cooking Rogier apparently has. But cooking and a kitchen are always very useful metaphores in an image, so I used that part to come up with the second part of the double portrait of Rogier.

Figurative style

Recently I made some illustrations on paper in a different style compared to the Bold Lines style I have been using the last few years. I decided to use that particular, more figurative style as a starting point for my sketches.

Pencil sketches on canvas

One problem I didn't foresee was the transfer of my sketches on paper to the canvas. My sketches where on a 1:1 scale. I used a grid with guidelines to help me with the positioning. But by wanting to do things too quickly, I forgot that pencil strokes on a canvas can't be easily erased. Using an eraser on a canvas, smears the pencil strokes instead of erasing them. Leaving an ugly grey stain on the canvas that needs several layers of white acrylic paint to be covered up. So my pencil sketches on canvas had to be right the first time. Luckily I knew the drawing very well as I had practiced it many times in the past days.

Posca paint markers

Due to the short and tight deadline, I decided to use Posca paint markers. They make it possible to speed up the paint process and have a consistent color scheme. And I needed that consistency to save more time by using a limited color scheme of four colors.

Working at night

Because of other responsiblities and my current projects as a freelance UX Designer, I had to do a large part of the work starting after 21.00h. But I like the atmosphere of the night. It's quiet outside. There are no distractions in the form of phone calls or e-mails and with some energizing music in the background, I managed to stay awake and not making any major errors untill approximately 02.30h. This proved a great way to finish a project with such a tight deadline.

Finished artwork

Like to see the final result? Check out the 'Keep calm and think of new recipes'-artwork in the section with commissioned artworks.

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Painted wooden cell phone holders - give-away art object commissioned by KPN

'Something with blocks'. That was, in short, the very first briefing of this project I received during a phone call. It also was the fourth art project commisioned by KPN Online Sales Director Peter Sonke.

Give-away art

The KPN Online Sales Team Day 2016 would took place at Thursday, May 26. On that day, Peter wanted to thank all team members and give them something unique. 'Something with blocks’. 'Or circles’.

At least the give-away needed to have a Mr.Upside touch. It also needed to have something to do with mobile phones, Internet and phone. Because selling those products through the KPN webshop is the responsibility of the 40+ team members of the KPN Online Sales department.

Stacking blocks

A few hours after I received the call from Peter, Janette and I started brainstorming. We came to the conclusion that, given the project boundaries, a holder for your cell phone would be a appropriate gift. Although a phone holder itself is not very special nor creative, the blocks can be stacked. And ‘building blocks’ are an excellent metaphor for ‘team’, ‘cooperation’ and 'building’. Also, the blocks together can form a small wall which can be painted on one side. This makes the wall not only a work of art, each block itself holds a unique miniature painting.

Wooden blocks with milled slot for cell phone ready for masking tape - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Testing the painting on the wooden blocks - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Impermanence as conceptual element

After handing out the blocks they would never be together to form the larger painting. That brought impermanence as an unexpected but welcome extra conceptual element. In addition, the blocks would be an artwork and utensil at the same time. And bare wood gives it a durable feel. One of the ideas during the brainstorm session was adding a phone charger. Eventually we dismissed this, as team members will use a wide variety of phone brand and models.

Carpenter

Working wood is not part of my skill set so we turned to carpenter Marc Kupers. Outsourcing the technical part of the artwork was a logical choice. Choosing Marc Kupers followed a friendly and successful cooperation with Marc that goes back years. He was happy to accept the challenge to cut to size, milling the slot and sand the blocks, with the exact dimensions and finish. The latter was extremely important. It ensured that the blocks could fit together. A few millimeters difference would be clearly visible and unwanted.

Applying the masking tape on the wooden blocks - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

First lines with acrylic paint and brush on the wooden blocks - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

High density image

After completing the technical part, I was able to start the artistic part. The 50 small blocks together make up a larger painting but each separate block would also have to be an interesting object by itself. Therefor an image with high density and detail was needed. The spacing and stroke width of Mr. Upside Bold Lines can easily be adjusted to ensure this high density result.

Figurative vs. abstract

The Mr. Upside Bold Lines are mostly abstract. But if the painting would contain at least some recognizable figurative elements, this was preferred. Recognizable elements in the artwork reduce the distance between the art and the viewer. Which makes the art easier to digest.

Color scheme

Setting the color scheme was much more difficult than deciding on the form. The colors had to blend in with any decor, business and private. And aligning the color palette with the corporate identity colors of KPN was far too obvious. One part of the solution was using design software. This provided the possible testing of many different color combinations within a very short time.

This was nice, as I needed to keep in mind that the color choice had tremendous impact on the planning and schedule. For a white line on a dark background to really get crispy white, it takes a lot of layers of paint and thus time. Some parts consist of up to 6 layers of paint. Moreover, there was no time for days of experimenting with real paint layers. To help the lines tell a clear story, I chose to use a contrasting blue line. This line adds something to the message of the painting and makes it a more attractive image.

Writing the characters 'KPN' with acrylic paint and brush on the wooden blocks - Photo 2 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

First lines with acrylic paint and brush on the wooden blocks - Photo 3 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

First lines with acrylic paint and brush on the wooden blocks - Photo 4 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Work in Progress on the wooden blocks - almost done - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Working late in the studio with broken lights - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Night owl

Because of other responsibilities and a lot of Dutch public holidays, the deadline was approaching fast. Working evenings and nights got inevitable. And, for some unknown reason the lights in my studio didn’t work. But the lights in the hall of the building did. So, at one point I found myself in the middle of the night, painting the blocks on the floor of the corridor of the building. The dimmed light, empty building and the gloomy music through the speakers made it al very unreal.

Finished the line work of the painting - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Finished the line work of the painting - Photo 2 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Finished the first layer of the lines on the painting - Photo 3 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Adding a new layer of paint to the lines of the painting - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Moved the painted blocks to our home office to finish the coloring - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Moved the painted blocks to our home office to finish the coloring - Photo 2 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Grateful

Ultimately, all the work resulted in a unique art object. I'd like to express my gratitude towards Peter Sonke as he commissioned this artwork. I also would like to thank Marc Kupers for his dedication and precision in the manufacturing of the wooden blocks.

Other commissioned artworks

Like to know the in other works commissioned by KPN? Check the following blogposts:

1. Painting 'Eco-system'
2. Painting 'Alexander the Great'
3. Digital illustration 'Under water'

Close up of the colored lines of the painting - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Removing the masking tape on the wooden painted blocks - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Applying the high gloss varnish on the painted wooden blocks - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Applying the high gloss varnish on the painted wooden blocks - Photo 2 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Mr. Upside Gallery Photoshoot of the painted wooden blocks - full wall of blocks - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Mr. Upside Gallery Photoshoot of the painted wooden blocks - full wall of blocks - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Mr. Upside Gallery Photoshoot of the painted wooden blocks - close up - Photo 3 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Separate wooden block with cell phone in slot - Mr. Upside Gallery Voorburg - Photo 1 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Separate wooden block with cell phone in slot - Mr. Upside Gallery Voorburg - Photo 2 - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Complete wall of wooden blocks with Separate wooden block with cell phone in slot - Mr. Upside Gallery Voorburg - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Complete wall of wooden blocks with Separate wooden block with cell phone in slot - Mr. Upside Gallery Voorburg - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

Complete wall of wooden blocks with Separate wooden block- Mr. Upside Gallery Voorburg - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting KPN Teamdag 2016 give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

The handing out of the wooden blocks on the KPN Online Sales Teamdag 2016 by Peter Sonke - Artwork Dutch contemporary artist Mr. Upside Michiel Nagtegaal painting give-away gift kunst cadeau in Mr. Upside Studio

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Commissioned illustration 'Under water' by Mr. Upside was delivered at the gallery`

It is 08.50h when the door bell rings. Janette and I are still busy getting the kids ready for daycare. A fairly large cardboard box is carried in by the friendly courier. For this digital illustration, printed on white aluminum, the Mr. Upside gallery is just a stopover. Today I will do the finishing touch, placing my Mr. Upside signature. Later this week I hope to be able to bring it to Amsterdam and deliver it the customer, the KPN Backoffice division. KPN is one of the largest telecommunications providers of The Netherlands.

Back in the delivery chain

The KPN Backoffice division ensures that an order which cannot be handled properly for various reasons, is fixed and placed back into the delivery chain. This involves many processes taking place without customers ever noticing it. Significant work though. For the customer as well as for KPN. That and a blank wall, was reason enough for KPN Online Sales Director Peter Sonke asking Mr. Upside again to create this third commissioned artwork for KPN.

Under water

Because of the invisible processes this KPN division handles, the whole setting of this illustration is placed under water. On the surface and a little bit more visible to the customer, there is a chain of ships. They represent the orders that are being carried from the KPN stores and webshop to the customers.

Online craftsmanship

Sometimes an order ‘falls off’ the chain. Those orders, with an error, are represented in the illustration by open packages. An octopus (KPN Backoffice) catches these ‘lost’ orders and assures they are corrected (closed) and put back into the chain, onto a vessel. Just as in ‘Ecosystem’, also an assignment to Mr. Upside by KPN, staff is represented by three collaborating heads. The headphones are a recurring theme in my work,. They represent communication in general and listening specifically; listening to yourself. But in the case of KPN, also listening to customers. The tool box represents online craftsmanship. The lighthouse stands for vision and represents the KPN headquarters.

Aluminum Dibond

The illustration (180x135cm / 70,8” x 53”) is printed by Dutch printer Webprint on Dibond. Dibond is a sandwich plate consisting of three layers; two very thin layers of aluminum with hard plastic in between. Dibond is widely used for photography in galleries.

Interested in your own custom illustration by Mr. Upside?

If you are interested in a custom illustration for your home, office or shop? Printed or painted as a mural. Please feel free to contact me anytime! I am sure we can get to an agreement.

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More blogposts by Dutch artist Mr. Upside

KPN commissioned painting 2 'Alexander the Great'

In March 2015 I was commissioned a painting by KPN, one of the largest Dutch telecommunications providers. In October 2015, Peter, the Department Director who commissioned the painting, called if I was interested in making another painting. This time the artwork was intended as a gift for a manager who, after 17 years of service, soon would be leaving KPN. Of course I did not hesitate.

The challenge was to make the gift relevant to Alexander, the manager who would be leaving. Luckily I knew him. I had worked very pleasantly with him before on several UX/UI design projects.

Concept

I had the idea of using a playing card. Not a regular one, but a personal one. An ‘Ace of Spades’ card. Of all the cards in a deck, this card is seen as a lucky card. The character A refered to both an Ace and the first character of Alexanders name. An Ace is also someone who excels in certain activities.

Furthermore I wanted to use my ‘Astronaut’-painting in my current ‘Bold Lines’ style and used it to visualize Alexander as a knight on a horse; a reference to Alexander the Great. Alexander, as a manager, is an outgoing, friendly and passionate person. The short, orange lines are a visual reference to comics where such lines are used to visualise ‘bold’ communication. The kind Alexander likes to use.

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Commissioned painting 'Ecosystem' for Dutch telecommunications provider KPN

We both stood with cake on a paper saucer in our hands. Around us colleagues were having animated conversations. For me this was a familiar situation. Being a Freelance UX Designer for 8 years now, I had many of these ‘thank you and good bye’ occasions here.

"What are you going to do?" the Director Online asked.
"I would like to devote more time to my art", I replied.
"Can you show me your work?"
“Sure!"

I grabbed my laptop, connected it to the brand new super large tv-screen and typed the URL of my online art portfolio I had quickly and silently launched two months before. While I was in the middle of giving a brief introduction to my plans and notes on old work, the Managing Director interrupted me.

"What should such a work of yours cost?”.

No prices where shown on the website. I mentioned a global price.

“Ok. I'd like to have one for the department. But make sure it has something to do with KPN.”.

I just witnessed my very first painting being commissioned.

In March 2015 I left the UX design project I had been working on for almost a year, to spent more time on my art. To thank the KPN ‘Mobile Sales’ department for their trust and confidence in my abilities as a designer, I bought pastries. But the very last thing I expected was to walk out the door with a commission for a painting.

Commissioned painting for Dutch telecommunications provider KPN

The following weeks I sketched as if my life depended on it, regularly sending updates to the client, neatly presented in a PDF. As Mr. Upside I wanted the painting to convey a positive message. Out of two possible options in the first round, the client selected the ‘Ecosystem’ theme. And added another of complexity by adding three extra keywords.

The telecommunications market, a large organization like KPN and especially the Mobile Sales department I worked at, are shown as living and growing ecosystems. It is a life cycle in which screens or communication are sold 24/7. KPN does not actively recycle any products but every sold ‘screen’ adds to the ecosystem by providing an opportunity to buy even more screens. In the painting the staff is symbolised by a warm and friendly female person who is connected to her colleagues by head phones. The head phones symbolise the focussed listening to clients. Who on their turn are represented by bees.

To keep the work accessible and approachable, I chose an illustrative and figurative form. During the sketching phase it became obvious that to accomplish the desired symmetrical and graphical look, the illustration had to start in a digital form. This would allow me to quickly select the proper color combinations and easy compositioning.

It did not always go as smooth as expected though. One of the things I did not assess well was the opacity of some acrylic paints. Which resulted in covering most parts of the painting with three layers of acrylic paint. And my pursuit of a clean illustrative style ensured that I sometimes got lost in the details.

Despite the very extensive process I am very grateful for the rare opportunity of being commissioned to deliver such a large painting in such an early stage of the my art career.

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More from the Mr. Upside blog:

Hard work pays off on this commissioned painting

Proud of working hard on this rainy Sunday. Almost finished this 130x170cm commissioned painting for one of the largest telecommunications companies in the Netherlands, KPN. 

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Progress on a commissioned painting

Studio shot. Making progress on a comissioned painting for KPN.
130x170cm, acrylic paint on canvas.

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