I first met NDZW when he came by to visit my roommate and draw her a coffee-addicted fox on the living-room wall. It took him several hours and many, many black markers to create the beauty, while I learned that he used to work as an architect but always wanted to make art.

From my early childhood days, my sense of aesthetics has been shaped by comic books, cartoons, video games and later on - graffiti and more or less loud and rebellious music, says NDZW.

This can be seen in a lot of his works, which often introduce strange characters that could end up as great comic book heroes.

 

OpenBooks.com’s first collaboration with NDZW was a huge one. He was responsible for drawing our “How it works” video, which was created in one night. The whole production involved a film crew with a director, producer, master gaffer, and voice, visual effects and sound mastering specialists. It was held in our founder - Michał Kiciński’s - 19th-century fort, bought by him a few years back. None of us slept, but NDZW had the hardest part to play. Luckily for us, a few mugs of coffee and loads of talent ended up as a video that we’re really proud of:

When you check out NDZW’s photo stream on Facebook you can quickly see what an incredible  imagination he has and how original his works are. Using different techniques, he satisfies his creative urges as a freelance artist as well as a street art painter.

I guess the best thing about what I do is that I really enjoy it most of the time and it doesn't feel like a job. In my free time, that is when I'm not doing commissions, I try to go out and paint outside as much as I can.

Of course we couldn’t stop after our first project with NDZW, so we found classics that we knew matched NDZW’s aesthetics perfectly. We gave him total freedom to interpret Lewis Carroll’s famous “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through The Looking-Glass”. And this is what he came up with:

 

Alice is no longer a stereotypical blonde girl with a huge Disney smile and ribbons in her hair. We pretty much loved this evolution and the fact that it’s a digital painting.

I don't really have a favourite technique of choice. I like working in digital - for the endless possibilities it offers and its flexibility, which usually comes in handy while working on commissions. On the other hand, traditional drawing and painting give me a rare opportunity to focus on a single activity without having to look at a digital screen with all the constant distractions it provides. That's why I try to keep a healthy balance between those two options, says NDZW.

And how was working on the Alice project for him?

I like doing book covers, because books can be a great source of inspiration. It's a great way to get your imagination going, and once it starts, you might be surprised where it leads you.

Hopefully to a world of memorable fresh pieces that NDZW is constantly delivering in his art.

 

If you’d like to invite him to take part in your project, feel free to contact us via ula@opanbooks.com or visit http://www.ndzwart.com/. For his latest pieces check NDZW FB profile.