A short bonus episode showcasing a few standout moments from this week's guest interview with Rik Oostenbroek ~

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[00:00:00] Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. This is bonus episode number 40, and I'm back to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation, pulling out some of those moments that deserve a second look and dig in deeper into what makes them special.

This week I spoke to Rik Oostenbroek, a Dutch visual artist, and a lifelong creative explorer who has spent over two decades. Build in a singular body of work. You see, Rik has always been guided by the curiosity of his 14-year-old self. In our conversation, we explored what it means to protect your creative identity over a long career, why mystery in art matters more than ever, and how the loss of dear friend became to push to finally get his hands dirty.

The episode published a few days ago was titled, dare to Not Know Who You Are. And it was a great opportunity to catch up with Rik and pop down the memory lane for a bit and then chat about what future might [00:01:00] hold to. If you haven't checked out a full episode, let me share with you these four standup moments.

Rik: all started as a 14-year-old, Inspired by people like you actually, sitting on Devi Dart, I never know how to pronounce it. And, the energy I got there from seeing something was curious about, didn't know what I was looking at. Looking at your work, looking at Chuck Anderson, 

Josh Davis. know it was I couldn't craft, like what it was and I was inspired by it. And that curiosity, like ex exploring, through the digital softwares and trying to figure out my own language.

Like I really tried to maintain that energy. And of course there have been tons of moments where I was Tired of it where I wanted to give up, but always kept on looking for those new ways of staying curious basically. putting myself somewhere I had to learn and I had to force myself into new ways of expressing myself.

And that kept me hungry in a way. [00:02:00] also been scary at points where either like the financial reward wasn't that big. that's, always a juggle. Like you need to make some money, but you also need to keep yourself happy. And most of the times those things don't really align. You've probably been through that yourself as well.

 been a constant juggle, but I always try to maintain that energy from the 14-year-old Rik, where I was simply being curious wanting to explore new ways of expressing myself.

This moment is super interesting. Because as these things happen, I'm currently going through a book about Virgil, a Blow, and his quote was, I'm doing things for my 17-year-old self.

 in Rik's case, he's talking about maintaining energy of the 14-year-old self, the one that was curious, wanting to explore new ways of expressing himself and. Most creators would talk about finding their voice, but Rik really talked about protecting that voice.

The fact that he was tracing everything back to being a teenager, searching on [00:03:00] deviant art for inspiration, Not to search for a breakthrough client, not to go for a viral moment, not to find a career milestone. It talks about something important how he thinks.

Curiosity. Forex isn't a face you grow out of, it's the engine. What makes it so resonant is that most people slowly replace that open wandering energy with expertise, obligation, and comfort. Rik has spent 20 years actively resisting that replacement. He didn't just survive the industry's shifting tides.

He did it by refusing to let professionalism get in the way of the kid who just wanted to make cool things and figure out how other people make theirs.

Rik: looking back at things a lot, especially reflecting a lot in this time. Like, at this age and this time, like where we're at and the conditions the world is in, the condition advertising and art are in and reflecting back, think I've done quite well.

only [00:04:00] thing. I keep on thinking is have we been in a bubble? that's what I've been thinking about a lot lately, was it a bubble? Because were so celebrated, digital creators were rewarded. So bigly and I wouldn't say like we didn't deserve it because we do great stuff, but whenever I reflect right now, I'm like, oh my gosh, there's opportunities for quite unreal, like at the pace that we're following each other up. had client after client, like I was invited to go here and then a week later I was invited to go there work on this campaign. I was featured in every sunless hot, worldwide.

And to me that was all normal, right? And, right now, like it slows down a little bit for all of us I guess. And I'm like, fuck, that was actually quite cool. So the only thing, whenever I look back at whatever was happened and whatever, I'm. Critical offer to towards myself is that I couldn't enjoy it more, that it was too normal to me.

You know what I mean?

I've known Rik for a while and I really admired the fact that he's [00:05:00] decided to step away from commissions that used to, be very, very lucrative because in that golden era, the constant commissions, global features, speaking invitations, collaborations.

It was the boiling frog problem applied to success. When extraordinary became routine, he stopped registering. He, he stopped registering it as extraordinary. And what makes this observation for Rik so valuable is how universal it really is.

most people only recognize the significance of a period in their lives four or five years later after it ends and I can put my hand up and say, yes, this makes perfect sense. I'm one of those people. Sometimes we were just too busy and too distracted to recognize how good some of the things are and how potentially disruptive they can be.

So in Rik's case, his willingness [00:06:00] to say this out loud is a gift to anyone currently in their own golden era, and not yet aware of it. The invitation here is simple. Slow down, look around and note this what's actually happening while it's happening.

Rik: It's the most frustrating process ever. you probably know it, you've been printing your work at times as well. especially if it's like a book and you need to do everything in CMYK, linear gradients are like the worst thing to print correctly. color profiles, are so many things at play, but once did this, Collaboration guy with a rug. and I got so many cool responses because it was a physical object. And that was the moment where I was like, okay, my work is only physical on screens.

And apparently whenever it's not on screens, more people tend to understand it again. Like it's putting it in a whole different perspective, and all of a sudden you reach a different crowd. And again, like it's not just to monetize your craft, [00:07:00] which is interesting, but you can also, inspire a whole new crowd that do that, it's quite a process. And I have to say that at times I'm still fully happy with it because I want to mock it up. actually, every time I mock it up, I'm like, okay, let's get it. It's perfect. And and you're like, oh, very hard have that control over it.

yours so involved in the end product, If you are just a tiny bit familiar with what Rik creates, vi visually, it's um, a beautiful cocktail of colors, shapes, textures, vibrancy, and, and for someone like him who's built an entire career in a digital realm.

This ob, this standout moment is a genuine revelation. Rik has spent decades creating work that lived exclusively on monitors, phones, and gallery screens. And then he discovered that removing the screen entirely changed how people connect with his work, not just from aesthetics point of view, but emotionally.

The [00:08:00] physical object did something the pixels couldn't. What's fascinating here is the paradox, a digital artist finding that his work becomes more understood. More accessible and more human to the moment it stops being digital. The move into screen printing, making books, making large scale sculptures, uh, a woven rug.

It's an expansion. And the frustration reg describes is that getting, you know, a full CMYK colors to honor what IGB promised on screen. It's a tRiky part, but here you see a learning to surrender control. Is trust in the process and let the material do what material does. That's not technical problem.

That is art.

Rik:  Yeah. and also the way he, always approached life and work. I was, very much a believer of once he was too comfortable with something, he moved on and he did something totally else. And money was never his [00:09:00] motivation to do that. And that's something he always preached for, make it fun, like he only live one life make sure it's fun and don't direct yourself into repeating yourself too much for clients or just stick close to your core.

what he did. He's actually still gonna release a book or working on it. Yeah. started with graffiti, like was his first personal Creative expression. he went back to like his last two years he spent doing that and, gonna release a book, of like pieces of his that he photographed himself.

He also took that very, serious, his camera and stuff like that. And yeah, great. And actually 10 days from now I'm gonna hang with all his friends again and just celebrate his life, which is wild. 

Rik and I dedicated the episode to our friend Ru Palosa, who sadly passed away, from cancer just a few months ago. Ruku was an important part of Rik's life and his tribute to Ru a [00:10:00] is.

 the emotional heart of this episode, and in this particular line, it is where it crystallizes into something genuinely instructive. Rutger wasn't just a good friend. He was a living, creative philosophy.

The idea that comfort is a warning sign, not a reward, cuts against almost everything this industry tells you to aim for. Most creators chase stability. Rudger read comfort as a cue to leave that restlessness, channeled with intention and integrity, produced a body of work that outlasted him and continues to influence people who never even met him.

Rik carrying that forward, literally taking himself to screen printing studios every month because Ruka told him to get off the screen. It is one of the most beautiful examples of a mentor's voice living on through someone else's hands. Thank you for joining me on this bonus episode. Uh, hope you check out a full conversation with Rik, and I look forward to catching you on the next [00:11:00] one.