Redmer Hoekstra, An Artist Who Revives Childhood Fantasies Through His Surreal Illustrations

Do you recall those childhood memories when your imagination would take you to places that were beyond reality? Redmer Hoekstra, a Dutch illustrator, brings back those memories through his surreal illustrations. He combines random objects and animals to add a spark of fantasy to his artwork.

More: Redmer Hoekstra, Instagram h/t: demilked

In an interview with DeMilked, Hoekstra explained his creative process and the message behind his art. “What I like is that everything is possible, but the brain does not accept everything. It is analyzing the world in patterns. That what you know is safe, and new things stick out. So, I sometimes disguise a subject as something normal, so the mind wanders by. But if people take a second look, they see that not everything is what it appears,” he said.

Hoekstra discovered his passion for this style of drawing in his final year of art academy. He said, “After struggling for two years with not knowing what my story should be, my angle of attack, in the end, it turned out to be the thing that I had been doing as a child. Creating my explanations for how things work. And realizing I can make my own reality gives enormous freedom creatively.”

Talking about his creative process, Hoekstra elaborated, “Every drawing starts with an idea. An association of the mind, a combination of shapes that match (for me) or a way of movement that does not seem obvious. This is the basis or the spark of the drawing around which I create the rest of the traveler or object/drawing.”

Hoekstra’s art conveys a message of moving towards new horizons and new ideas. “For the past few years, it feels as if I am working on a parade. All are walking to the right to new lands, new horizons, out of the frame, and towards new ideas,” he added.

Redmer Hoekstra’s surreal illustrations not only bring back childhood fantasies but also remind us that our imagination is limitless.