About
Hi my name is Astrid Verplancke. I am a Belgian illustrator based in Sint Eloois Vijve.
My work has an earthy character and focuses on figures, hands, and gestures. I have a deep love for imperfect beauty, craftsmanship, and color. I translate my poetic imagination into expressive images in which I search for a symbiosis of extremes: strength and vulnerability, large figures engaged in small, intimate actions, fragile lines alongside rough brushstrokes.
The images build up in layers. The process is partly intuitive and partly controlled. This is a play of creation in which I experience a great sense of freedom.
I work as an illustrator, graphic designer and painter.
if you want to collaborate please contact me!
Nominations
2026 - Honorable mention Pictural Ronse
2025 - International illustration prize : WINNER GRAND PRIX
Nami Concours - SOUTH KOREA
2024 - Honorable mention Picturale Ronse
2020 - Nomination Boekenpauw
2019 - Young wolves Price Picturale Ronse
Press
Jury Report Nami Concours - about Relaas van de schipbreuk
"It's work that shows a lot of power and expression, with a wonderful palette and a strong visual language of a combination of painterly as well as drawing techniques. Grounded in a tradition of Flemish expression, they see the work as surprising and challenging. It forces us to think about ourselves.”
Boekenpauw Jury Report - Vissenkind
Simple line drawings alternate with bold, almost cut-out Matisse-like silhouettes and sweeping acrylic shapes. An abundance of virtuosity expressed through powerful silhouettes. Yet it never becomes a cacophony; the atmosphere remains as captivating as it is consistent. Seemingly effortlessly, with just a few pencil lines and planes of colour, she creates a kiss or an embrace—more beautiful than a scene from a film. The kings' love for their Fish Child radiates from every page.
Waan en Wijs (NL) - about Onderweg
Verplancke's work is expressive, beautifully coloured, and original. Through her compositions, stylisation, and playful use of proportion and perspective, she brings movement and atmosphere to every image. Her illustrations perfectly complement the mood of the story and, in my view, each one is a beautiful work of art.