This is how it all started…

It all started when I saw a small postcard size image of Amsterdam, which Hartwig did a few years ago and sent to family and friends as a christmas card. I looked at the card and thought to myself “this is really clever! The round globe view, the colours and the quirky perspectives – this is fun!”.

I looked at Hartwig and said “this is amazing! you should spend some time doing other cities as well. Why don’t you do London for example?”The artist, in what I later realized is a normal fashion for him, immediately dived into lengthy explanations as to why he thinks it does not make sense, and that he is not sure he can do bigger images, and the fact that he does not have much time and any other excuse he could think of (and believe me, he came up up with some really good ones too).

Luckily, I am not the one to give up so easily. Especially not when I see such a huge potential. So I kept on pestering him to do an image of London, and after about 6 months he ran out of excuses and finally sat down and tried it – just to get me of his back.That was how the panoramic view of London was born (see our website under “London”) and it also turned out to be the start of an amazing journey for Hartwig.

When he finished that London image we were both amazed with his creation. He admitted to me later on that he never realized he could do such full scale artwork before and that he discovered his real passion in life.He asked me many times afterwards “how did you know that I can do it? what made you pester me for so long?” and to be honest, I don’t know. I just felt so strongly about it. I just knew. That’s why I did not give up and kept on begging him to try and I am really happy I did too!I am very passionate about Hartwig’s artwork. It inspires me!

Like the man himself, it makes me see things differently all the time. I have seen it 100′s of times in the past few years and still, I find new details every time I look at it. If I am having a bad day, all I need to do is take a look at his portfolio and it cheers me up immediately. I also love the little humorist details he puts into his artwork, ones you need to look very carefully to spot and see…

It is an inspiring experience to watch Hartwig do his artwork. I love the way he studies the aerial view of a building and just puts a few lines on paper and suddenly the same building appears all quirky and fun. It is a pleasure to see how an initial building skeleton at the first draft becomes a beautifully detailed structure at the 10th one. I don’t know where he finds the patience to do it. Frankly, if it was me, the whole thing would fly out of the window after the first few lines – I just don’t have the patience for that… But luckily I am not the artist…

I am a man on a mission now. I want to help Hartwig make his dream come true – to travel the world and illustrate all its major cities in his style as he passes through them. Visiting the city before he draws it is really important. It helps him capture the very essence and the urban make up, whilst the smells and the noises leave an imprint in his artistic soul. Later when he sits down to illustrate and colour the artwork, those personal experiences of his visit help him recreate it in his unique style and choose the right colours to reflect its true bustling nature.

Do you think you can help Hartwign in this journey?

Can you spot an opportunity in using his style and images on your products?

Are you looking for some special artwork for advertising campaign and would like to commission him to do a view of your city to suit your needs? Or maybe you know of someone who is looking for new and original artwork for a project, and you think Hartwig’s work will fit in perfectly?

Thank you in advance for your help and for stopping by.

Isaac