At his full-service creative agency—Bob van Dijk Studio / Fool of Ideas—Bob van Dijk has collaborated with the likes of Leagas Delaney, R/GA, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Wieden+Kennedy, The Martin Agency, Ogilvy, Fallon, Translation New York, Collins and 180.
But on the side, he has pursued a string of notable personal projects: “Happy Collection,” a cheerful series of minimalist graphic portraits; “The Image Building Collection,” a system of free graphic forms for creating custom wall art; “Happy Landscapes,” a series of black patterns that, when zoomed in, reveal collections of buildings; and “Block Art,” depictions of celebrities and comic characters made up of … blocks, referencing 1920s De Stijl (and doing so without the aid of computer programs).
For “Block Art,” he created a piece for Instagram every day. But ultimately, the process of painting precise blocks on canvas proved creatively limiting. He found himself more focused on technique than artistic expression. “In response, I began applying paint to the canvas in a more expressive and fluid manner,” he says, which rekindled his creative enthusiasm and led him, somewhat unexpectedly, to a new style: expressive comic art.
While traditional comics emphasize bold, clean lines, “expressive comic art is characterized by … energetic surfaces that collectively form the image.” Van Dijk’s approach explores how far one can push this technique while still retaining a level of recognizability—and this has become the core of his recent work. Below, he tell us a bit more about his foundation and evolution.
When and why did you become interested in comics?
My interest in comics began in childhood—like many kids, I was fascinated by drawing and the world of comics. In the 1970s in Holland, we had a weekly comic magazine called Sjors, which later became Eppo. Most of the comics were created by Dutch illustrators. My uncle also collected the annual red yearbooks of Donald Duck, which compiled the entire year’s issues into a single book. With a father who was a drawing teacher and a mother who also attended art school, drawing became a natural part of our daily life at home.
As a child, I created comics but never pursued it further—until now. Currently, I’m working on a series of children’s books titled Mr. Hat and Cat. The story revolves around a man and his cat, who embark on exciting adventures together. Mr. Hat wears a very colorful hat, and when he places it upside down on the floor, they can jump into it and dive into a world of great adventures. I’m writing the stories and creating the illustrations, and once completed, I’ll look for a publisher to bring these books to life. I’m confident that it has the potential to become an international hit!
What were the first comics that appealed to you?
The first comics that captured my imagination were Trigië, Storm (with its incredibly realistic artwork), Lucky Luke, Asterix and Obelix, and Guus Flater—all from European cartoonists. And, of course, I was also drawn to the classic world of Disney!
Tell us more about the beginnings of your expressive comic art.
The journey began with my own portrait. While working on a book titled Mind You, I was dissatisfied with the poor quality of photos provided of the authors. I wanted to simplify and unify their portraits, leading me to use block art. I created block-style portraits of all the authors, transforming them into a cohesive visual family. This process also included a block portrait of myself, which became my personal signature.
