As a child I was very fond of drawing and I was a keen collector of comic books. My father was an architect. He often took me to museums and exhibitions. Although I found this quite boring most of the time, it must have struck a note somewhere, because I went to the Rietveldacademie (art school), where I studied illustration. I especially loved the classes in the local zoo, drawing animals and children, and these stayed my favorite subjects for years to come!
After graduating from art school, I started working as a children’s book illustrator. Visiting book fairs in Bologna and Frankfurt, I met foreign editors and started illustrating books for English, German and French publishers. Also some books, originally published in the Netherlands, were translated into foreign languages, even in Japanese and Korean!
As an illustrator, it’s nice to leave the drawing board now and then. I love to travel. So it’s great I had the opportunity to visit children at international schools all over the world. I present my work at the children, and we make huge drawings together!
I’m also a painter of land- and cityscapes. I paint what I observe, and always outdoors. The landscape must be literally tangible – in wind, in burning sun – this sharpens my concentration. A sturdy grove of trees, deeply rooted in a field, that’s my anchor. Details in a landscape fascinate me, sometimes through variations of light or an unexpected silhouette.
Photo Chris de Wolf
“I paint what I observe, and always outdoors. The landscape must be literally tangible – in wind, in burning sun – this sharpens my concentration. A sturdy grove of trees, deeply rooted in a field, that’s my anchor.Details in a landscape fascinate me, sometimes through variations of light, or an unexpected silhouette.”
– Alex de Wolf
Exhibitions
Illustrations
- Bologna, International Children’s Book Fair
- Bratislava International Biennale of Illustration
- Dutch Oranges, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Bologna, Jakarta
- Dutch Picture Book Exhibition, Japan
Paintings
- 2012 Japanese Cultural Centre, Amsterdam
- 2011 Kyoto-Machiya, Artist in residence, Japan
- 2007 Japanese Cultural Centre, Amsterdam
- 2006 Hirado, Japan
- 2004 Foundation De Kunstsalon, Utrecht
- 2003 Open Ateliers, Western Islands, Amsterdam