Decoratieve patronen met vogels, bloemen, cirkels en driehoeken c. 1916 - 1945

This page of sketches, made by Reijer Stolk, offers us a peek into an artist's mind, a space where ideas are just beginning to take shape. I love how the pencil lines are so tentative, almost like Stolk is feeling his way through the patterns, unsure of the final form. Take a look at the little bird motifs; they're not quite realistic, but they have this charming, folk-art quality. You can almost see him playing with the shapes, seeing how they fit together. The texture of the paper is also important here. It's not a smooth, pristine surface, but something with tooth and character. I'm reminded of Paul Klee and his explorations of signs and symbols. Like Klee, Stolk seems to be tapping into a more primitive, intuitive way of making art, one that's less about representation and more about pure visual invention. It reminds us that art is a language of its own.