Trying my hand at doing illustration – my mum put the story of her life on paper, and I’m making a little booklet out of it. Drawing has never been my forte – especially difficult now I want a likeness. Don’t like likeness – horribly difficult to do. Also I do this using my computer tablet, which makes drawing a pain in two ways: 1. it pretends to be pen-on-paper but has a totally different feel. 2. the opportunities for making changes are endless.

Mum was born during the Depression, lived through Worldwar II and the re-building that came after it, then started a family in the Seventies when Dutch society was trying to adapt to the ‘progressive’ values that came in with the hippies. Then we went into the digital age, a revolution she’s missed completely – she shies away from everything that has buttons.

So, here’s my mum in 3 different stages of her life: toddler, schoolchild and young adult. Drawing her made me see – again – how gorgeous she was, and also how the little girl resembles her a lot. Fun thing, genetics.