✏️ Hi, my name is Marloes De Vries,

working as an artist/writer/illustrator for the past 20+ years, and sharing about reigniting my creative core after I completely and massively burned out.

Who are you?

Hi, my name is Marloes (pronounced ‘Mahr-loose’), and yes: that’s a very Dutch name. I live near Rotterdam (a big city) but up until ten years ago I lived where I was born and raised (a small town) on the other side of the Netherlands. If I’m honest (I am very honest, ‘blunt’ even) I’d much rather live in the North of England. I spend there part of the year because the city is way to hectic for me.
I love putting my thoughts to words and images (which comes handy in my job), long walks, collecting books and reading them (in that order), sharpening pencils, British crime dramas, and I’ll get very excited when I see a pink sky.

And what is it that you do?

I draw, illustrate and write, mainly. I’ve been working as a creative professional full-time for 15+ years, but started working when I was just 13 years old.
I went to art school, became a graphic designer (although I really wanted to be a painter or illustrator) and took a leap in 2010: I left my job to become an illustrator. I’ve illustrated picture books, non-fiction books, books for grown ups and I wrote and drew hundreds of comic pages. I won awards and from the outside it looked all well, but I overworked myself because I never felt I was doing enough and I didn’t honour my own boundaries. Eventually, I burned out and got very ill.

So, what is this newsletter/blog/Substack about?

I’ve not entirely recovered yet but I know for certain I don’t want to go back to how it used to be. I’m figuring out what I really want to be doing and how I can live a healthier, more balanced life.
Through writing I hope to find my way back to myself and to what I want to create, instead of doing what I think I should do. This place is a diary of my process, thoughts and anything else that comes up along the way. I hope that sharing my journey will give myself insight, but I also hope it will be useful to others.

→ Read more about me
→ Find me on Instagram: @marloesdevee (illustrations and books) and @marloes.studio (paintings and art)
→ My monthly (normal) newsletter for inspiration, tips and what I make.