For our first ever interview we took a seat with Sander Rietdijk to learn about his creative process and much more.

Saad Moosajee:
Hello Sander, firstly I would like to thank you for being available for this interview. As many of you know, Sander, also known as ICDP has been pushing slashTHREE's limits for our past two packs and has made a splash submitting 10 pieces (at last count) to our past pack Reawakening, and Odyssey.

Sander, please tell us about yourself - your hobbies, interests etc.

Sander Rietdijk:
Well ok, the main question... there's not that much to say about me being me.. I'm not that complex... My main intrests include arts, sports and hanging out with my mates... I'm quite an outgoing person, who's not that good at sitting still, so I'm always looking for things to put my energy in...

Saad Moosajee:
Ah, I see. Tell us a bit more about your backgrounds, how you got into art etc.

Sander Rietdijk:
I actually never really studied anything related to art.... I was actually planning to become a communication specialist, but art has always been a part of my life.. as a kid I used to draw my own characters.. and when I was a teenager I did a lot of graffiti work.. after that I discovered digital art, which lead me where I am now a days.

Saad Moosajee:
Ah, that's quite an artistic journey... or Odyssey should I say!

Sander Rietdijk:
Yeah could that.. I think my curiosity has been my main reason for becoming the artist I am today..

Saad Moosajee:
Now to discuss your art! When creating your art do you value your work's aesthetics or concepts more?

Sander Rietdijk:
Well as for the most of my work, I really work out of a concept I have in mind. I'm really intrested in the deeper meaning of art.. but there are also some moments where a piece just comes out of a feeling which isn't really a concept.. so to answer you question, I can say my main focus is on conceptual art.

Saad Moosajee:
What was your main inspiration working with the theme Odyssey? In other words did you create your pieces as soon as inspiration struck? or did you have a basic 'game plan' to base your work off of?

Sander Rietdijk:
Well I don't really have a basic plan on how I work, it's more whatever comes to my mind... concerning Odyssey, I started working from the main meaning of the word odyssey, as for being a journey or a discovery.. so my first pieces where based on the concept of going to or seeing special places... after that I made some works that where inspired by the greek philosophy and by some new techniques I wanted to work with.

Saad Moosajee:
Ah, clever planning. With that question, I must ask - what is your personal favorite piece from Odyssey (created by yourself of course) and can you give us a bit of background on it?

Sander Rietdijk:
I think my personal favorite piece from Odyssey is 'Sands of Time '. Besides the fact I'm quite happy with the result of this piece, it's also because the idea of time being a very important part of our journey through life has been an intresting subject for me... I've always been intrested in us humans being aware of the limited time we have... with this piece I wanted to symbolize the whole idea of us traveling trough life while our time is running out on us.

Saad Moosajee:
Strong concept, for a strong piece. I was actually viewing that piece as you responded. Great work.

Sander Rietdijk:
Thanks man

Saad (Exile): Your works in the pack certainly stand out as unique Sander, take us through a step by step process you go through in creating your work.

Sander Rietdijk:
Well there isn't really a basic structure I use in creating my work... most of my pieces start of with a basic idea I get in mind.. after this I try to visualize it in my head.. as soon as this is done, I start creating it... this creation really depends on the idea I have.. I'm always trying to try out new techniques or combination into my pieces. Not sure if this really answers your question.. but it's hard to explain a working method when there isn't really one wink

Saad (Exile): Sander, these days most artists are able to find inspirations and role model's in other artists, whether they be traditional or digital artists. Who are some of the artists you look up too if any?

Sander Rietdijk:
Well as for my role models I have to refer to the old masters like Caravaggio, Gustav Klimt and Rene Magritte. Besides that I'm a big fan of the English Street artist named Banksy... I really adore his sharp mind and the way he combines humor and message into his street art.

Saad (Exile): Sander, in you're piece 'LADON' for odyssey you used a unique digital painting style, digital styles such as this have been speculated as 'easy' having painted yourself as a grafitti artitst, would you agree with this speculation?

Sander Rietdijk:
Well the fact that I used to do graffiti really helped me understanding how to do digital painting.. but I wouldn't say it's easy. You can compare making this pieces to painting on a real canvas.. you start of from a basic layer and paint all the details on top.. so it takes quite some time before you get what you want it's really like layer upon layer

Saad Moosajee:
That's a very time consuming process I presume. How long did it take you to create that piece?

Sander Rietdijk:
Well creating "LADON" took me around a day to get the basic done and after that I spent about half a day to work some more on the colouring and the details.

Saad Moosajee:
Time well spent!

Sander Rietdijk:
Thanks again man, I really enjoy digital painting so yeah I agree on that one.

Saad Moosajee:
Now, to any of our readers out there hoping to increase their technical skill level digital art-wise do you have any suggestions?

Sander Rietdijk:
I would say take your time, don't try to rush things.. if a piece isn't working out, put it away for a week or so and then take another look at it. You will see this will give you lots of new insights on how to make it better.

Saad Moosajee:
Very good tip.

Saad Moosajee:
I'm going to ask you a few short questions and I'd like you to answer with the first thing that comes to your mind.

Sander Rietdijk:
Ok, bring it on

Saad Moosajee:
Blondes or burnettes?

Sander Rietdijk:
brunettes for sure

Saad Moosajee:
Coke or Pepsi?

Sander Rietdijk:
Coke

Saad Moosajee:
Junk food or healthy food?

Sander Rietdijk:
Depends on the mood, but let's say healthy so my mom will be happy

Saad Moosajee:
Would you rather attend an Opera or go shopping with your wife/girlfriend?

Sander Rietdijk:
I'd go for an opera, I really don't have the patience to go shopping with my girl

Saad Moosajee:
Favorite food?

Sander Rietdijk:
Italian

Saad Moosajee:
Favorite sport?

Sander Rietdijk:
Soccer

Saad Moosajee:
Would you rather ride a bicycle or drive a gas guzzler?

Sander Rietdijk:
It's always raining in Holland.. so I'd go for a gas guzzler because of the roof above my head

Saad Moosajee:
Favorite place in the world to be?

Sander Rietdijk:
London

Saad Moosajee:
And finally.. If you could be doing any other thing possible in the world right now what would it be?

Sander Rietdijk:
running a bar at the beach somewhere in a tropical place

Saad Moosajee:
Nice! Well, Sander, it was a pleasure interviewing you. On behalf of the slashTHREE staff congratulations on your feature and keep up the great work and thank you for being our first featured artist!

Sander Rietdijk:
Thank you very much man, I wanna thank you for making me your first featured artist and I will do my best to keep up the good work

Saad Moosajee:
Great talking with you, as usual mate :)