ANV

All posts tagged as Charbon de Beringen

13Nov2018

Finally everything goes according to plan: Artist Residency week 6

In Art, Artist Residency by AnV / 13/11/2018 / Comments are closed

May 6, su

I’ve been looking at this sign for a while. As you can see the arrow goes up, but the text says “go down to the underground” Funny

bord met pijl naar de ondergrond

May 8, tue

Behind me there’s this window. It closes the gap where there used to be a bridge to the other side (photo2).
The other side, that’s coal washery plant 4. It’s going to be renovated, if I’m informed well. The bridge itself will also come back to life, in the new mining museum be-MINE PIT. I am already very curious how that will be.



Now you can see where the window is located. I’m feeling small again in all this space around me

May 9, wed

As an independent I have no income at this moment. I was hoping to receive subsidy for what I’m doing here, but I got the news today that my request was denied. I’m disappointed, not only for the lack of money, also for the lack of trust. It wasn’t a very productive day. I started doubting about myself again. Sometimes life is a bitch.

schilderij An Vanderlinden in opbouw

May 10, thu

Let’s protect the world upstairs :) It’s time to add more structure.

May 11, fri

This was a good day. A very good day. For once it was quiet, the construction workers are not here today because of the national holiday (Ascension Day). The sun was shining, and I worked well. And fast. But not as fast as in this video :-D. Now that I see myself in x16 speed, I finally understand why my neck hurts :).

May 12, sa

Layer by layer it’s getting darker. Just how I like it :)

ANV schilderij in opbouw cdb3 2018-05-11 13u be-mine

 

Roundup Artist Residency week 6

Everything (except the finances) went well this week. Happy!

29Oct2018

About letting go of fear and moving out: this was my Artist Residency week 4

In Art, Artist Residency, painting by AnV / 29/10/2018 / Comments are closed

April 23, mo

Today I ‘ve let go of fear, and I simply painted. Man it felt great! I kept it modest and not worked opaque, but still, I feel that I have finally painted again, phew!

An Vnderlinden schilderij in opbouw tijdens Artist Residency week 4

April 24, tue

I have worked really well today. My first large painting is “restored”. I had messed it up yesterday, it’s OK now. It is a lot darker now, finally! Almost finished.
Charbon de Beringen, An Vanderlinden

Today I have also (finally) really taken care of the 3 small paintings that I am working on. I hope it is dry enough tomorrow, it looks promising.
3 kleine schilderijtjes in opbouw tijdens An V's Artist Residency week 4

April 25, wed

The next days, a film crew will be shooting a soap at this location. I promised them to pack my things. I had not really thought about how to move that carpet … :-D :-D
Once at home I still had the feeling that I was eating dust. I’ve put all my clothes directly in the washing machine, and myself in the shower for an hour.

April 26, thu

So this is my home for a few days. As I expected, I’m feeling comfortable inside my “paint office”. Look, I even have a nice carpet in here :-D.

The film crew of the Flemish television soap “Familie” is working nearby. To be honest: I never saw even one episode, so I don’t have any clue who the f**ck “NIKO” is, and why somebody is desperately screaming to find him. I do know they had to shoot that particular scene many, many, many times 😜
I looked it up yesterday: it was on view the first week of september.

April 27, fri

A very nice side-effect of that film crew being here, is that be-MINE removed the fences halfway the unloading floor. The alarm is still on so I can’t go any further then usually, but the view is so much nicer. I’ve already taken lots of pictures today, and I guess I will take some more :). Soooo beautiful.

And have a look how everything changes when the evening light kicks in. I’m so in love with this building

Losvloer kolenswasserij Beringen, april 2018, foto An Vanderlinden

Losvloer kolenswasserij Beringen, april 2018, avond, foto An Vanderlinden

April 28, sa

The evening light was also outside very beautiful yesterday :-). I went for a walk on the slagheap after work.

Schachtbok Beringen in avondlicht, foto: An Vanderlinden

 

Roundup Artist Residency Week 4

In the end: the relief :). My first big painting is finally finished. Finally! The second is completely different but that was mentally necessary. That one is not finished yet. Also worked on the 3 small paintings. Productive week eventually.

Lijm gesmeerd en steenkool gestrooid op mijn doek tijdens Artist Residency week 4

Schilderij "charbon de beringen 1" An Vanderlinden

22Oct2018

Unwanted visitors. Even twice. Artist Residency week 3.

In Art, Artist Residency, painting, project coal by AnV / 22/10/2018 / Comments are closed

April 17, tue

For the first time sunshine in the evening: this light is mesmerizing. I see things I never saw before. Suddenly colors appear in the back of the building, gorgeous! I really love this light.

losvloer be-mine

April 18, wed

Wonderful weather today. Sun and warm. Too much sun, unfortunately. The unloading floor is very nice, but it is difficult to work where I stand, I have to install me differently tomorrow. A lot of messing around today because the sun was making a difference on my canvas. But I amused myself, so blissfully without cold!

April 19, thu

Finally spring! Or will I call it summer? It is sunny, 28 ° (!) , and there is a blissful warm breeze. I had my lunch outside outside on the slag heap :).

anv terril zicht op be-MINEANV 20180419 terril Beringen

April 20, fri : unwanted visitors

I was terrified last night! Normally I have to stop working at 6 pm because from then on, I am alone on the site, the offices and the mining museum are closed. If I want to stay a little longer, I have to inform the people of be-MINE. Yesterday I did so for the very first time, I told them I would like to stay until 8 pm.
A quarter before 8, I just started packing my things, the alarm goes off. That means that there are burglars in the building. I heard stories about both copper thieves and urban explorers. From the first category I am afraid. I feel a lump in my throat from fear. What should I do? They may also think that I caused the alarm myself by entering an area where I’m not allowed to.

I send a text message: “The alarm goes off. It is not me who’s causing it, but I am still in the building.” A little while later the alarm stops, and I get a phone call: “I am looking at the camera images right now. I see people. They are just teens, 2 girls and a boy. I think the alarm scared them off, they’re probably running away.” Almost at the same time I hear outside a girl screaming “the alarm goes off!”

Pfew!
Thought to go for a swim, but only felt like a drink afterwards.

ANV 2018 04 19 losvloer be-MINE

April 20, fri

I brushed my painting clean this morning. Yesterday I scattered unsieved coal on a layer of glue, by there is not much left of it. Mostly dust actually. It was not my intention that the surface would be full of grains, but I had expected more of it. No problem, so I learn again.
anv steenkool borstelen

April 21, sa : unwanted visitors, again.

Highlight of the day (NOT): Unwanted visitors, again. This time it was a group of elderly people. One of them wanted to know if it’s Art that I am creating. I tend to ignore his question, but he really needs an answer. He asks a second time: “Is this art?” His wife, embarrassed, smiles an apology to me, and says to him: “of course it is. Mondriaan, that’s also with a lot of squares, and that’s also art.”
But the man isn’t satisfied as long as he doesn’t get an answer straight from me. “Is this art?”, he asks me for the third time. So I answer: “Yes sir, this is Art.” That’s the answer he waited for. His most disapproving gaze is my part.
“But that doesn’t mean that you have to like it.” I add, while I turn my back.
I know I shouldn’t care, but I feel like crying.

anv taking distance flat work 2018 04 20

Round up Artist Residency week 3:

I’ve worked extensively. Painted many thin layers. Still not good. I’m getting frustrated. I’ve painted during many hours the last 3 weeks, and there’s still not one painting OK.
Conclusion: I do it the wrong way. It is too complicated.
I have to try to get everything in balance. I’m thinking way too much now. I want to “just” paint, amuse myself, have fun doing it. But I’m afraid.

Schilderij CDB1 in progress, An Vanderlinden

16Oct2018

So this is how “out of comfortzone” feels like. Artist Residency week 2.

In Art, Artist Residency by AnV / 16/10/2018 / Comments are closed

April 10, tue

Everything is ready, let’s start week 2. I’m totally in to it. Last night I made pigment paste at home.
I’m starting to see it, the structures. I think I need a little red spot, to go with the brown. I’m glad my head is clear right now. I really needed a long weekend off. I was complete, completely messed up. Shaken.

pigmentpasta chabon de beringen

What a bustle today. There has been a film crew here almost all afternoon. They were preparing recordings at the end of this month, so I’ll probably have to pack my things for 2 days, boooo. Nevertheless, I have worked hard, my painting has changed seriously. It has grown, but I am not content yet. Something has to happen. Coal, or red, or white, or …?

Painting in progress by An Vanderlinden

April 11, wed

Whoohoo, I asked for coal today, so Jan came this afternoon and guided me into the coal washing plant. That’s an area where I’m not allowed to go into by myself, because it’s not safe. Parts of the floor suffer from concrete rot. We collected 2 different sizes coal.

local coal from Beringen

April 12, thu

There were already 2 groups of visitors this morning while I was still setting up my stuff. It’s really something special, painting in a museum. I don’t feel comfortable, so I hide myself behind my studio easels whenever I hear people.

BTW, if you want to pay a visit to this wonderful mining heritage yourself: I can highly recommend it! Visit www.mijnmuseum.be for all info.

Schilder An Vanderlinden in mijnmuseum Beringen.

April 13, fri

Painting is not going very well at this moment. I’m working on matte/shiny today, but I’m not getting the results I hoped for. The product I use to mattify my paint, looks matte in one direction, but very white in the other one.

Painting in progress, artist An Vanderlinden
Painting in progress, artist An Vanderlinden

The strokes I made while testing my coal pigment with different acrylic binders, come in very handy as color charts to determine what version of my coalpaint I want to use. I love this warm brown color.

coalpaint development by An Vanderlinden
coal paint development by An Vanderlinden - Charbon de Beringen

April 14, sa

Today I lay my new easel flat for the first time: sweeeet! That’s really handy! I like the tray too, in which I can put my pots of coal whithout being able to bump them on the ground. Blissfull, just like the sun in my back.

 

Roundup Artist Residency week 2

I start feeling at ease. Not quite there yet, but it starts. My work is going a bit better, but not as it should be. Glad with the progression I made this week: I now have a translucent mat paint that does not turn white. I am relieved.

A few days ago I started a second painting. The structures in the first one were getting on my nerves, I needed to set it aside.

painting in progress, An Vanderlinden
AnV painting in progress in Beringen Mijn

Occasionally I’m enjoying it here. Still not comfortable, but it starts. I’m a bit shy, I hide myself everytime a group of visitors enters. It’s so weird.
AnV.be op de losvloer in Beringen Mijn

07Oct2018

About having cold, and chaos in my head: Artist Residency week 1

In Art, Artist Residency by AnV / 07/10/2018 / Comments are closed

Tue, april 3

11h: TADAAA. Here I am :-) A hell of a headache and I’ve already got cold hands, but I’m fully installed now, and I’ve put the first brush strokes on canvas in this former mine building. HOORAY! :-)

14h: It seems that I’ve chosen a heavy draft hole to install myself. I feel the wind blowing in my back. It’s only 12° outside. This weekend the temperature will go up they say, yippie.

Artist Residency An Vanderlinden in be-MINE

It creaks and drips on all sides here and I think it’s all great :-). So beautiful here. Occasionally the sun comes to squeak for a moment, and then it is really awesome. And I like the pigeons :-) Picasso also had some in his studio :-). Reassuring too, all those white feathers on the floor. It is so beautiful here.

Wed, april 4

An Vanderlinden in Beringen, april 4, 2018

To look around is almost the only thing I’m doing here. I look, and I listen. It is impossible to grasp. It is so … so great. I can’t understand. Even my thoughts stop. I can only watch. Absorb. I think this is awe.
I am overwhelmed.
So many lines to follow, so many shades to see, so many …. SO much!
Everything.
Every inch…

Look, I’ve got a room with a view :-).

Thu, april 5

DAMN it is cold today. 8° and regularly a shower. I installed myself in a draft hole, the cold wind is constantly blowing in my back. I wear 5 layers of clothes. And a scarf. Still cold. 8° early April. Oh well, I’m doing this to my myself… :-).
At least I’ve got electricity now, so I can make some coffee to warm myself up.

An Vanderlinden op de losvloer, 5 april 2018
Kunstschilder An Vanderlinden in be-MINE, april 4

Fri, april 6

Some things are meant to be. I discovered this on the wall of the depot where I store my stuff. “Writing on the wall” is not always a bad thing :-)

Writing on the wall: "Paint Office"

An Vanderlinden in be-MINE, april 5

This is where I put everything at night, just to be sure. I’m not the only person who loves this building…. That’s also the reason why I don’t post a thing about this while I’m here. I’ll wait until all my stuff is back home.

Roundup Artist Residency week 1:

Chaos in my head
chaos on my canvas
but it will be fine
I am beginning to see structures

Schilderijen AnV in mijngebouw Beringen - 6 april 2017schilderij in opbouw, 6 april 2018, An Vanderlinden in Beringen Mijn

 

01Oct2018

The start of my Artist Residency: about a moving elevator and Easter eggs

In Art, Artist Residency by AnV / 01/10/2018 / Comments are closed

Ingang be-MINE, 21 maart 2018Today, with a half-year delay, I begin to tell the story of my Artist Residency, as announced earlier. I made paintings with my coalpaint and coal, in a building of the former coal mine of Beringen, Belgium. Every week you can read a weekly report here.

April 1

My official residency period starts today, but it’s Easter … Not an ideal day to start, so as a good Belgian, I’m going to eat chocolate eggs with my parents.

But a lot has happened …
In the months that preceded, I ordered large canvases to paint on, and a moving elevator to get them on the spot. Especially the latter worried me. The place where I’ll work is located 16 meters above the ground. A big gate had to be opened to let them in. I was worried that something would go wrong, and that caused a lot of stress. I had my canvasses delivered a week earlier, so they would certainly be on time for the moving elevator …

March 21, wed

HOORAY! My canvases were delivered early this morning, and one is already in the right place! The moving elevator is no longer necessary. Peter wanted to try if they could not “just” enter the stairs. “Just”: 100 stairs and a number of difficult to take corners. But they succeeded: HOORAY!

March 27, tue

Today was the long expected moving day, but without moving elevator :-) That went smoothly, it was’t that much. In the opposite direction it will be more. My other canvasses were still in the collection building, Dee & Jan dragged them upstairs. We encountered a few visitor groups. It seems a good idea to put me out of their reach, behind the red / white ribbons next week.

levering linnen schildersdoeken door Artel

 

 

 

 

09Sep2018

Artist Residency in old mine building Beringen

In Art, Artist Residency, Limburg, painting by AnV / 09/09/2018 / Comments are closed

part 1: The most beautiful and blackest pigment, comes from …
part 2 : Coal preparation plant Beringen
part 3 : Artist Residency in old mine building

An Vanderlinden during her Artist Residency in the coal washing plant of Beringen
When I wrote about my visit to the coal preparatioin plant in Beringen at the end of March, I was not able to tell you everything. Now I am. Well, almost everything ;-)

In love with the coal preparation plant

As I wrote at the time, I am really crazy about mine buildings. I love that atmosphere, the space, the mysterious light … the whole history of it gives so much inspiration. Whenever I am in such a building, I just want to stay there and paint. During my tour of be-MINE, I fell so much in love with the release floor, that I said that aloud. “Then you have to submit an application”, was the answer.

Permission Artist Residency

I asked permission to make paintings on the release floor for a number of months, with the coal paint I was developing. The Beringen coal would eventually be processed at the place where it was originally brought up.

About 3 months after I officially asked my question, I received permission from be-MINE. Very exceptional, because normally that area can not be used without supervision. Sometimes dreams come true.

Isolation

The agreement contained some conditions, including that I should not receive visitors. This for safety reasons. Press / media attention was allowed in the end, as you noticed in a previous message. At first I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But once at work, I was happy, even very happy, that no one could come to disturb. I was happy that I was not allowed to share stories and photos here and on social media. That gave me the peace I needed to focus solely on my paintings. I started to paint almost daily, often on weekends. From morning till evening. For 4 months eventually. It was very, very intensive, but oh so blissful.

Follow the report

Every day I took photos, and occasionally I wrote something to be able to report afterwards. As from October 1, I start here, and on instagram and facebook, to show you what happened during these 4 months.

My story is told in February. At that time, you can come and see my paintings in real life. They will be exhibited from February 10 to March 3, 2019, in cultural center Casino Beringen (Belgium). Save the date!

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