All posts in Artist Residency

June 26, tue

Underlay: check. Composition outlined: check. Blue tape: check mark ;-). I would like to say that I am on schedule, but that would be a lie: I had an appointment to work here for 3 months… That means that this painting should be ready in 4 days …. completely impossible. Fortunately, those lovely people here gave me a month extension :-). Once again: thank you so much!

June 27, wed

Playing hide and seek for the visitors again :-)

June 28, thu

June 29, fri

I make lots of coalpaint these days. Mostly I talk about my black coal paint (which is more black then any paint you can buy), but I absolutely love my brown version too. To make my brown coalpaint, I use a different type of coal, also found in this coal preparation plant of Beringen. It’s smaller (called “fijnkool” or “stofkool” in flemish). After turning it into pigment, I use a different diffuser to make pigment paste of it, and I mix it with different acryl binders then I use for my black coalpaint. I make it more glossy, and transparent. The more thin layers I put on each other on my canvas, the deeper the brown gets.

June 30, sa

Yep, it’s still going according to plan :-)

Round up Artist Residency week 13

It all went well this week. The painting I have in my head, becomes visible on canvas.

June 20, wed

The previous days I finished my big painting, “Charbon de Beringen 4”. You can see the final version of that painting from february 10 – march 3 in my solo expo “Charbon de Beringen” in Cultuurcentrum Casino Beringen, Belgium.
Tomorrow I’ll start my third and last big painting here, on again another spot of this marvelous building :-).

June 21, thu

Installed :-) I’ve been moving forward and backward all day to find the perfect spot in all light circumstances. This one is fine. I only have a some sunlight at lunch time :)

June 22, fri

May I present to you: the subject of my last big painting :). The coal washing plant, and this cabin. This means I’m back “in the open’, in the visitors area. But this time I’m not afraid of them. I’m used to the environment now, and I’m no longer searching, I know what I’m doing on my canvas, I have a plan that I can explain. A whole different feeling then when I started here, almost 3 months ago.

June 24, su

I have to watch my steps on this location… so no more walking backwards :)

Round up Artist Residency week 12

A new canvas on yet another location: because you cannot move forward while you stay in the same place ;-).

June 11, mo

The glue had some time to dry, so today I started to brush away the excess coal, and put my studio easel back upright.
It looks like it’s going to be all right :) That’s the feeling I needed, after spending some hours in the hospital because of, again, a new outbreak of my eye infection. Seeing this really cheers me up.

June 12, tue

Puzzling with coal, day 5. I filled up the last ‘upper compartment’ and experimented with different variations & sizes of coal to fill up the lower compartments.

June 13, wed

Puzzling with coal, day 6: almost there. The first lower compartments now fill up the gap between the stairway and heaven ;-).

June 14, wed

Now it’s time to brighten it up: I’ve been dusting off my canvas, and added more light to it.

June 15, fri

This afternoon I had to go to UZL again for my eye infection, but couldn’t resist to drive afterwards back to Beringen. And I couldn’t resist neither to take my brush and to add some more shiny strokes, even though I had clean clothes on :-).

June 17, su

My painting is almost ready, but I still have to do a lot of finishing touches. Today I glued some more coal on the edges of the cabin. And I enjoyed once again the space around me very, very, very much. How many times can I say over here that I really LOVE this building? I really do. :-)

Round up Artist Residency week 11

Sometimes you get more than what you hoped for. And it feels goooooood :-).

June 4, mo

I made a stairway to heaven today 😉. Detail work in progress. Needs to dry this night…

June 5, tue

Multitasking: inspecting my Stairway to Heaven while playing hide and seek for a group of visitors.
About my stairway: heaven is currently unattainable for me: I forgot the first step…

June 5, tue

I spent a lot of time thinking & testing how to fill up my cabin. I want to make a transition from light to dark with coal.
I’ve tested different sizes of coal with different glues, but none of them to my satisfaction.
Then my be-MINE guardian angel walked by. I explaned what I was doing, and mentioned I could use bigger pieces of coal. “Oh, but we have too. I will come back later, then we will go get it.” :-)))

June 6, wed

He did came back yesterday, took me to coal washery plant 4, and we collected a bunch of beautiful big pieces of coal 😊. Today I spent a lot of time trying to make slices as thin as possible. Not easy, but the result is very, very promising. Happy!

June 7, thu

Puzzling with coal :-)

June 8, fri

Puzzling with coal, day 2. A patience work that, frankly, in the long run starts to work on my nerves. Fortunately I can beat some coal with a hammer for change ;-). I still need a lot of pieces.

June 9, sa

Puzzling with coal, day 3.

Today I also did some restauration works on my stairway, and I finally installed the first step.

Round up Artist Residency week 10

I made a stairway to heaven and a guardian angel brought me to beautiful new material : speaking about a match made in heaven :-)