Kaat Zoetekouw
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Kaat

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Feat of Love

Design Interiors

The biggest way my husband Wil show his love for others, is by doing things for them, specifically designing and making furniture. There’s an “I love you” in the bookcases he built for our home. There’s an “I love you” in the nightstands he made for us after I saw an idea on Pinterest. There’s an “I love you” in our outdoor lounge seating set, which we’ve enjoyed for about 5 summers now, under our outdoor roofed patio. But the most love, he has put towards making our children their bespoke bedroom furniture. This started in 2016, when I was pregnant with our daughter Rosalie. At the time, we didn’t know we were having a girl, so it was a challenge to decorate her nursery in a gender-neutral style while still keeping it sweet and colorful (I’m not big on black and white for nurseries). So we landed on pastel…

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Space Capsules

Conceptual Graphic design Illustrations

When I started drawing as a child, I usually wanted to achieve realism. That is to say, I learned how to draw strictly by using references. I don’t consider myself to be a particularly “good” realistic drawer – shaaaaading! – but I do know scale, and balance, and accuracy in that regard. When I draw a face, you see who it is immediately. While it’s a calming and satisfying exercise to achieve likeness, it never stimulates me enough creatively. On the other hand, in photography, I want to “work with what I have” and take beautiful photographs of places, people and objects just as they present themselves to me. Sometimes I’ll use a filter (such as for my fractal florals project) but for me the challenge is in using light in a way that uplifts scenery, or capturing the right emotional expression and moments. With conceptual photography, I usually work…

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Meriwether Lewis

Experimental Plants

One of the prettiest flowers, I think, are Lewisia (named after Mr. Lewis). When I bought these, I didn’t know anything about them. I first thought they were a type of succulent, even. Upon realizing they weren’t, I thought we’d be able to enjoy them for one spring, much like any other flowers we get for the garden. But they’ve been with us for 3 years now. The Lewisia are also where I started experimenting with my late grandfather’s kaleidoscopic filter. I don’t know if he ever used it himself – he did like to experiment with multiple exposures and other trickery – but when I saw it in one of the boxes containing his things, I thought: this could be cool. It reminded me a little of some of those multiple lomography cameras. So I started with the Lewisia flowers. My shots then were not that great. I was…

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Enjoy the Process

Graphic design Illustrations

One of the reasons I started exploring digital art, is how easy it is to make adjustments when needed. Corrections or alternate versions are just so easily achieved, and in my brief experience that means I should strive to do my absolute best and focus on the details, much more so than I would with a regular sketch. Sketching to me is usually impulsive, expressive. But these illustrations are meant to be very deliberate, and that’s how I’ll approach them from now on. I made some alterations to my “Fuck You! Love, Me” piece and feel a lot more confident as a (hobbyist) illustrator. And quite comfortable with the process and medium. I am also discovering how much easier it is to include watercolored elements to digital works (something which held me back from doing more with my art, and my more I mean “selling” #SorryNotSorry) and will work on…

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Digi Doodles

Graphic design Illustrations

If you’ve known me a bit longer, then you’ll know that I occasionally draw and paint. It’s something that comes and goes, but it always comes back again. I’ll spend a few weeks immersing myself in watercoloring or portrait drawing, and then it goes on the backburner for a while. Despite it not being a part of my daily life – for many artists, it’s second nature – I do feel that it’s a part of who I am. My preferred methods have always been traditional. I started with pencil drawings, moved on to acryllic paint in my teens / early twenties, went back to pencil drawings and then finally found a love for ink, watercolor and gouache. But I live and work very digitally as well, as a photographer. And a lot of what I wanted to achieve, didn’t quite fit with the supplies and tools I had at…

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Love, rainbows

Experimental

Our house looks like a toystore exploded and all of its toys landed on our floors and in our closets and shelves. Feet bruised from stepping on Legos (I KID YOU NOT, THEY ARE THE DEVIL’S TOYS) right before sitting on cars and pencils that my daughter has strewn all over the sofa. Having kids is messy. So, so frustratingly, joyfully messy. Our house is rarely orderly. But oh, it is a happy house. Toys. Books. Fairy lights everywhere, because my daughter loves them (it was one of the first things that she responded to and pointed at when she was little…r). Boldly colored playmats, because they’re safe. Drawings, mine and hers (I have a wall in the kitchen that’s dedicated fully to her art; it’s Her Gallery and I regularly curate it with newer paintings). And rainbows, of course. Always rainbows. On her bed, their clothes, her boots, her…

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Rebel rebel Disney princess

Blogging Portraiture

With her mom being photographer, my daughter is used to constantly having her photo taken. She’ll see me snap a moment in time, documenting something she or her little brother is doing, and will run up to me, telling me “draai eens om” (turn it around) so she can see herself through the selfiecam. Or she’ll ask me to see the photos I’ve just taken. Recently, she’s taken it upon herself to take her OWN photos (at 3 years old), using her dad’s iPhone. And she’s pretty good at it, too. But until now, I haven’t had the pleasure yet of having her really pose for photos (I do have those portraits from when she was 13 months old, but those were her captured in a magical moment), for a Real Photoshoot. So that was a happy moment for me, because I’ve been DYING to get recent portraits of her…

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Buyer’s Remorse Remorse

Experimental Portraiture

I’m not an impulse buyer, especially not when it comes to expensive items such as equipment. I actually feel anxious about a big purchase. I’ll decide to order something, right? And then at the last minute I’ll cancel the order procedure, because I need to think about it just a little while longer. Or maybe read some more reviews, just in case. And the next day, this cycle will repeat itself until finally at some point – yes, I will buy what I want. I don’t know what it is. I’m not particularly frugal. You should see me when I buy clothes for my kids. I’ll go nuts. What even is a budget? But with bigger purchases, perhaps there’s a bigger risk of it being a bad purchase. And it feels like more of an indulgence to spend hundreds of euros on something for myself. Now – as a mom…

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Around Sundown

Portraiture

Just a few more of my son to share today. He turned one on March 25th, when we’d already been in social isolation for a few weeks. It was a bit strange to not have his other loved ones there to celebrate the milestone, but they were with us in spirit, and Luuk is at an age where he doesn’t realize anything yet. We shower him (and our daughter) with extra love and affection in the meantime, to make up for lost hugs over the past few months. It’ll be an interesting story to tell them when they’re older. We don’t dwell on it too much anymore because everyone is going through. In a way because of that, I feel more connected to humanity than ever before. From a distance.

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13 months

Portraiture

My house and heart are full. These photos, especially put next to each other, mean the world to me. When my daughter Rosalie was about 13 months old, I snapped some photos of her as it was snowing outside. I stood outside the window, capturing her in awe of the white world surrounding us that day. To this day it’s one of my most beloved, favorite photos ever taken. Cut to 2,5 years later, when her little brother Lucas was also around 13 months old (a few weeks ago). My husband Wil had taken him outside, and I from inside saw the beautiful golden glow of the setting sun falling on their blond hair. I quickly grabbed my camera (which still had a 100mm lens on it – but it was perfect), realizing that it wasn’t just the moment that was special but the timing too. Portraits of my boy…

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