This weekend, I once again drew, read, and listened to something:

Drawing

Every once in a while, I produce a larger work. My most recent illustration is of the whale shark, the largest fish on earth. It was created by making thousands of dots with the finest micron pen.

The biggest challenge for me is determining when the work is finished. Strong contrast is beautiful, but once everything is dotted, there is no turning back. The result:

What shall I draw next using this technique?

Reading

In The Dress for Hitler, Bas Von Benda-Beckmann explores his German family's Nazi past. Central to the book is his great-aunt Luise, who married Alfred Jodl, one of Adolf Hitler's most loyal generals, and defended him long after he was sentenced to death. It is a very interesting book in which the reader is guided through German history on the basis of his family history, based on diaries and correspondence. From the 19th century to the Second World War to the present day. The Nazi regime crept into both German society and his family. Von Benda-Beckmann does not shy away from the difficult questions about his family.

The letters from his great-aunt Tini also play a major role in this. She turned her back on the Nazi regime earlier and more emphatically than her family, and her diaries and letters provide insight into the dilemmas this entailed. As NRC wrote, "when you close the book, you have almost imperceptibly absorbed a solid history lesson of more than 600 pages.".

Listen

The View From Up There has been on repeat here for weeks. What a beautiful, atmospheric album by Nagasaki Swim. Straight out of Rotterdam. Favorite songs: Two Years Gone and Saving Up.

Another Strook next week! 1