As soon as she was old enough to hold a piece of chalk, her love for drawing began. For 29-year-old Amanda from Zwaag, drawing is an outlet. “Everywhere I go, I am drawing, at work and at home. I used to always take a sketchbook with me when we went somewhere, so I would work there too.”
Amanda has autism and drawing helps her to put feelings on paper. She draws on paper, but also digitally. “I don’t want to be treated differently because I have autism. It’s part of me, but I just do what I like,” she says. Amanda has to wear headphones all the time because she can easily become overstimulated by noise. “Then I will withdraw for a while and continue working on my drawings.”
Masterpieces
Amanda works at the Leviaan, and there she was linked to Joep Schagen from Brouwerij Tamesteut. “It actually started with a logo competition for another beer. Our supervisor Jeroen was also in contact with Joep and he asked if I could make a logo for his beers,” she explains. She thus created the complete logo within two hours: the rabbit of Brouwerij Tamesteut in Hoorn.
She is most proud of her self-made strip Galaxy Cruisers. She shares many of the things she makes on her Instagram account mysenwaffle. “I don’t share everything, because many of the drawings are made purely on feeling. That is very personal.”
Do what you like
Amanda does not want to make drawing her job. She enjoys working at Leviaan and believes that her creative outlet should not become a chore. “Then it is an obligation. I don’t always sign, so then I really have to force myself to sign something and I don’t want that.” Every now and then she is asked if she would like to sign something for someone for a small fee. “That’s a bonus, but I draw when I want.”
Amanda would like to tell people that they should ‘do what they want’. “Don’t let anyone tell you to do things you don’t want to do. Life is short, so do things you enjoy. Have a party.”