Hi, I’m Eva!

I’m an author, illustrator and artist living in Amsterdam together with my husband, Mauri, and our baby, Livia.

I love drawing from observation, experimenting with traditional materials, printmaking and finding ways to draw digitally that look and feel analogue. I’m often on a mission to learn more about storytelling, narrative illustration and whatever subject it is that I choose to make a picture book about.

A lot of my work originates in drawing, which is just another way of looking very closely to the world around me. Fascinated by human behaviour and psychology, I don’t shy away from the more difficult subjects like sadness, loneliness and the creative process. I like to address those in my work, but often in an encouraging or humorous way.

My work celebrates ordinary moments and things, creating space for reflection, comfort and hope. Within the limitations of a picture book and a page, I try to push the boundaries and am always trying to find ways to distill the many things I’d like to say in a clear, but moving reading experience. I’m often accompanied by many ideas and characters that, unfortunately, I have to ignore sometimes to make sure that I actually finish what I’m working on.

I’m currently working on my third picture book with Andersen Press.

 

More about me

If you want to learn more about my creative process and thoughts on picture books about emotions, I’ve written a blog post for Booktrust and Foyles. If you prefer to read in Dutch, you can find interviews with me on Pluizer and ZitDaZo.

If you want to learn even more about my creative process and receive updates about my work, you can find me on Instagram, where I am usually most active, or Twitter and Facebook. If you don’t want to miss any news, make sure to sign up for my news letter below.

 

My work

My debut picture book ‘When Sadness Comes to Call’,  published by Andersen Press, came out January 2019 and is translated in 20 languages. It was shortlisted for the World of Illustration Award, longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and the UKLA Book Awards and won the V&A award in the book cover category and also the Klaus Flugge Prize for the most promising and exciting newcomer in picture book illustration.

My second picture book ‘Where Happiness Begins’ is published by Andersen Press in February 2020.

 

Education

I earned an MA with distinction in children’s book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art in 2018. I also graduated from Audiovisual Design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2008, and did an exchange for half a year at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

 

Awards and exhibitions

2021 // Nominated for the Kate Greenway Award (Where Happiness Begins).
2021 // Longlisted for UKLA Book Awards (Where Happiness Begins).
2020 // Selected for The Original Art 2020 exhibit by the Society of Illustrators in New York (When Sadness is at Your Door, Random House (the USA edition of When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press)).
2020 // Winner of the Klaus Flugge Prize (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2020 // Winner of the V&A Award in the Book Cover category (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2020 // Longlisted for the Kate Greenway Award (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2020 // Included in the Read for empathy list by EmpathyLab  (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2020 // Longlisted for UKLA Book Awards (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2019// Merit award for the Little Hakka International Picture Book Award (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2019 // Selected for the BIB (Bratislava Illustration Biennial) by IBBY UK  (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2019 // Shortlisted for the World of Illustration Award by the AOI (When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press).
2019 // Included in the exhibition of the Illustrating Mental Health conference by Worcester University.
2019 // Vlag & Wimpel, an honourable mention awarded by the jury of the Gouden Penseel and Zilveren Penseel awards (for illustrations in children’s literature). (Als Verdriet op bezoek komt, Leopold (the Dutch translation of When Sadness Comes to Call, Andersen Press)
2018 // Winner of the Sally Goldsworthy Bursary, issued by Discover Centre in London.
2016 // Winner of a scholarship from the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, to study at the MA Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.