In '24 and '25 Nils created two beautiful illustrations for our municipality, depicting archaeological finds from Almere. The first artwork centres around a set of medieval beams that were supposed to form the roof of a church, but ended up on the bottom of the Zuiderzee after a shipwreck during transport. The illustration that Nils produced for us captures the stormy atmosphere, the rough seas, the crew’s distress, and the impending doom of the ship perfectly. The second work portrays a Mesolithic settlement and incorporates many elements of prehistoric life, such as tools, subsistence strategies, clothing and environment, which makes it very suitable for educational purposes.

For us, one of the main reasons to work with Nils is his incredible attention to detail and the way he acquaints himself with the subject through background research, to make the result as historically correct as possible. Also, the creative process runs smoothly from the first sketches to the end result. The collaboration is intuitive and easy, with inspiring dialogue and mutual suggestions until the result is both satisfactory and stunning. We definitely recommend Nils as a historical illustrator!
Helle Molthof, BA, MA. | Archaeologist | Policy advisor for archaeology at the municipality of Almere

After completing previous illustration assignments for or through us, Nils created two highly detailed, atmospheric, and innovative illustrations for a teaching package about the ice ages and Pleistocene fauna. We, in turn, created this on behalf of the province of Flevoland and in close collaboration with the Dutch Archaeological Association (AWN) department 4/Flevoland, whose members Jan Boes, Archie Ermans, and Frans Roesscher collect fossils and flint tools for on the Marker Wadden (newly reclaimed land from older sand layers). Together with Frans Roesscher and Nils himself, I drew up sketches and specifications for two impressions: one of a situation in the Eemian, the other in the Weichselian.

Nils turned them into impressive, convincing images, the likes of which have never been created before in the Dutch context. They are part of a comprehensive teaching package for primary schools in Flevoland. Excerpts from both illustrations now adorn the new display cabinets in Erfgoedhuis Almere (Almere Heritage Center), as a backdrop for parts of the Roesscher collection. My personal favorite detail: the migrating Neanderthal family in the distance on the ice age mammoth steppe. Brrr, so cold! Go see them in Almere.
Drs. (MSc/PhD) Evert van Ginkel | Author at TGV Teksten & Presentatie | Chairman of the Dutch Archaeological Association AWN

Nils illustrated the book ‘De Nacht van de Stirling’ (The Night of the Stirling) for us. This book has also been published in English. The illustrations are very beautiful and expressive, really bringing the stories to life. Nils has an eye for detail and has captured the story and atmosphere of the book perfectly. Working with him was also a pleasure, and we greatly appreciated his personal involvement in the salvage of the Short Stirling BK716. I highly recommend Nils!
Lilian van Mourik | Project manager WW2 Aircraft recovery | Programme manager National Programme Aircraft Recoveries | Coordinator Region Deal New Land | Host Holland’s Hidden Heroes podcast | Founder of Polder Pathways

I initially turned to Nils for illustrations for my book The Night of the Stirling (2020). Since the stories in the book are set at night and the atmosphere is necessarily dark the 'magical-realist' style in the illustrations I knew from Nils attracted me. I had quite a tricky series in mind, special perspectives and consistency with the design of the book. We achieved this beautifully due to an intensive collaboration. Nils managed to quickly turn the ideas, sketches and documentation material into a full illustration, made adjustments and improvements and delivered a result that everyone is enthusiastic about.

The same goes for the second project, which had a completely different approach: impressions of medieval Dutch landscapes (Makers of Holland), which were not meant to give the impression of being an archaeological-geographical reconstruction (but which in fact they are). Here too we tinkered together until the desired result was achieved. Again, Nils has created a coherent series with a very distinctive atmosphere.
I really liked both the collaboration and the end result. I will keep Nils in mind for future projects and warmly recommend him to people who are looking for new ways to represent historical impressions.
Drs. (MSc/PhD) Evert van Ginkel | Author at TGV Teksten & Presentatie | Chairman of the Dutch Archaeological Association AWN

Many fossilized bones of extinct animals and Neanderthal flint tools have been found in the subsoil of Flevoland and the Markermeer (formerly the Flevomeer, Aelmere, and Zuiderzee). To people unfamiliar with this subject matter, the finds are just a pile of old bones and chunks of flint. The trick is to show in a credible way which animals lived here and who made the flint tools. I acted as advisor on this project. Nils has succeeded in using vivid scenes to show the animals that lived here in a landscape where Neanderthals also roamed. This resulted in two beautiful illustrations.

The first illustration is a scene from the Eemian period, about 125,000 years ago, a warm period. Every element in this vivid illustration is based on fossil finds. We know, for example, that Neanderthals roamed among hippos, forest elephants, forest rhinos, hyenas, and aurochs. The second illustration depicts a scene from the last ice age, the Weichselian, approximately 70,000 years ago. A number of Ice Age animals have been vividly placed in the landscape, such as woolly rhinoceroses, cave lions, mammoths, and steppe bison. In the background, a group of Neanderthals can be seen who managed to survive in these harsh conditions. Here too, every element is based on fossil finds. The illustrations have been used for an educational project and for exhibitions. In short, they are successful reconstructions of Flevoland's distant past based on fossil finds.
Frans Roescher | Author, advisor and public speaker | Amateur Paleontologist | Representative of the Dutch Archaeological Association AWN

Nils created the illustrations for the book 'De Nacht van de Stirling' (The Night of the Stirling) on behalf of the municipality of Almere. Nils is a talented illustrator who has perfectly captured the texts of the book in images. We are very pleased with the result, and Nils is also a very pleasant and approachable person to work with.
Désirée Voorn-Neef | Project Assistant at Almere City Council

Nils is an exceptional artist and a pleasure to work with. He thinks along with you and makes great suggestions. Communication was clear. Nils' preparatory work is incredibly thorough. He exceeded our expectations with the first piece of concept art he made for us, and we're looking forward to working with him again. Highly recommended!
Adrienne Liron | Producer at 3 minutes West