Rien Poortvliet's Work

Rien Poortvliet illustrated children's books in his spare time, since the end of the 1950's. Since he also was a lover of nature and a passionate hunter, he also made illustrations for books about hunting, written by one of his hunting buddies, Wil Huygen.

In 1968 his publisher suggested Rien became a full time illustrator, which he did. Unfortunately, there was not much work and in 1972 Rien decided to publish a book himself. The book, titled "Hunting drawings", consisted purely of drawings and pastels and was about animal life and his beloved sport, hunting. The book sold well and in 1973 he published another one, "The foxes have holes", also about wildlife. In this book his handwritten notes were published as well. He also made a similar work concerning the life of Jesus Christ.

In 1976, Rien Poortvliet and his buddy Wil Huygen published "Life and Work of the Gnomes". This book was actually born out of fun, but lead to international fame. More books of this little people followed, along with many others. An extensive list of all his books can be found here.

After Rien's death, Wil Huygen continued publishing books written by himself, with many drawings and paintings Rien had left over from former works.