A Layered Look at the World: Mixed Media Cities by Emmie van Biervliet

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I’m a sucker for beautiful textured artworks with rich colours – the epitome of Emmie van Biervliet’s amazing pieces of the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. She uses a variety of materials to create each piece, adding extra layers and a new dimension to the places she captures. I guarantee you will be as blown away with Emmie’s work as I am! Enjoy! 

Your paintings have a lovely unique, rustic style to them. How did this develop?

I’m interested in old buildings, the characters who have lived there and who may live there in the future. A building as a storybook.

I worked on a project many years ago in a shantytown ‘Villa Maria’ in Peru, each day new people would arrive and set up home rising higher and higher into the barren mountains. They would use anything available to make their homes; bits of car doors, cardboard, packaging. I’ve always remembered and been inspired by this creativity in times of hardship.

Sideview Cities

Let’s talk about process. What steps do you take when creating each piece?

I tend to initially sketch from many different places, beginning with a quick sketch to see which spot has the most potential and unusual features. I also take photos and amalgamate them into one piece. The materials I use depends on how move around. If I am going by bike then I have to be selective about what I take and I’ll used things found en route such as envelopes, packaging etc. If I’m on foot I tend to par down my colours to the most versatile ones and the colour of the earth. I will bring acrylics, some paper, and something to lean on. If I am taking a car, I have the luxury of being able to take part of the studio with me; rollers, board, paper, maps, newspaper stamps, coffee, spices etc. I build up layers of materials (when possible) associated to the place it is based on. I’m often torn between staying put and having all the materials available from the studio or exploring and getting some more spontaneous pieces done with less options at my fingertips.

What do you hope each piece tells viewers about the place they depict?

I hope to present the place in a way that reminds us that our perceptions are influenced by what we are experiencing and what we have experienced.

Aya Sofia at Night

It’s obvious you’ve travelled a lot. Where has been your favourite place to paint and why?

I think Istanbul has been somewhere that I have kept on being drawn back to; the mist rising from the Bosphorus, ruins next to skyscrapers and mosques. There is a buzz in the air and an interesting art scene. Also, the feeling had from exploring a place where cultures collide and it’s history of trading brings an interesting eclectic dimension to the place. I found it a friendly place to sketch. People would be interested in what you were doing and often tell you a little about the building you were sketching or suggest other places to visit.

Cuban Dreams

Aside from travel, what inspires your work?

Stories are a key part of my work. They hold a sense of playfulness and the idea that anything is possible. Aside from that, I am inspired while exploring the mountains while skiing and climbing. It is easier to work inside when your muscles are spent and you have looked over the mountain tops!

A Dusty Evening in Putre

If you could paint anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

The possibilities! I think it would be to return to Havana because it is rapidly changing and some of my first successful work came from there. I showed the work in a disused church with flaking walls and I’ve continued to seek out pictures of it to work from. I was inspired by the eclectic styles of its construction; the way you could see life happening within the often candlelit walls, and the unusual way the country ran. I intend to return next month, I’ll keep you posted.

You can see more of Emmie’s wonderful work on her site and on her Facebook page.

Have you been to any of the places depicted in Emmie’s work? I love the texture, the colours, and the slightly rustic feel to Emmie’s work. What do you like most about it? Let us know in the comments below!