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anv.be

Belgian visual artist, developed paint from local coal. Not charcoal, real coal.

Around 5 p.m. I suddenly realize that there is mov

Around 5 p.m. I suddenly realize that there is movement in the other room. I'm shocked when I go in and see a beer counter. I would come here tomorrow, again, to continue working. They tell me I have until tomorrow afternoon, but I do it straight away.
This time it's only for the finishing touch. Really. I add some variation to the light part, touch up a detail here and there, and then I am finally satisfied with what I see. Oof!
Back to room 2 again...

( #latergram of aug 31, late afternoon)
#art #insituart #panic #deadline #finishing #painting #details #perfectionist #finishingtouch #coalpaint #finalversion #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

I thought the outer edge was too dark from day 1,

I thought the outer edge was too dark from day 1, that's not how I had it in mind. I'm going to have to do something about it. Guess? Yep, the wall paint has arrived again! :-D . But this time it can't be too drastic, because this work has to be finished tomorrow. I'm trying to see if I can make the wall paint a bit more transparent and add color with my pigment paste. That works. A transparent layer of coal paint over it, it is a different color than what I am used to, but this color fits so wonderfully in the space, with the colors of the bar and the floor, that I decide to continue this technique to paint the concrete part.
( #latergram of aug 31, day)

#art #insituart #artinprogress #painting #workinprogress #wallpaint mixed with #coalpaint #concrete #concretelook #structure #coal #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

I can continue working on the 2nd wallpainting aga

I can continue working on the 2nd wallpainting again, phew. I like to have different layers in the blacks too, and the structures of my design require both horizontal as vertical directions. That means a lot of sticking tape, painting, removing, re-sticking... At the end of the day everything can be removed
.
( #latergram of aug 30)
#art #insituart #artinprogress #painting #black #blacklayers #workinprogress #layerbylayer lots of #tape #insitu #eisden #coalpaint #coal #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

The room I was working in is not available today,

The room I was working in is not available today, so I'm going to "finish" my niche. I'm a perfectionist, and the edges are way too messy for my standards. And actually... I'm not satisfied with those horizontal stripes, they are a bit too illustrative… hopla, here comes the pot of wall paint again 🙈
( #latergram of aug 29)

#art #insituart #artinprogress #working and #keepworking #perfectionist #painting #finishingtouch #niche #wall #terhillshotel #meetingroom #coalpaint #coal #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

Step by step, I'm executing my plan. Yesterday I p

Step by step, I'm executing my plan. Yesterday I painted the surface with a transparent layer, and covered everything that should remain light with adhesive tape. Today I immediately start sticking coal to the outer edge. That turns out darker than I intended, but I'll continue. By 8pm everything that should be dark is covered by a first layer of black paint. It looks like a gigantic mess.
( #latergram of aug 28)

#art #insituart #artinprogress #painting #insitu #eisden #coalpaint #coal #tape #messy #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

Painting 2 Did I already mentioned that Terhills H

Painting 2
Did I already mentioned that Terhills Hotel commisioned me to do 2 wallpaintings? I worked so long at the first, that I've got only 1 week left now to do the second one. ONE week 😱.
But I thought a lot about this painting last month. I do have a plan, I am prepared. So Let's do this. Step 1: transparent layer, Step 2: tape, lot's of tape.
( #latergram of aug 25)

#art #insituart #terhillshotel #wallpainting #secondwall #start #artinprogress #insitu #eisden #coalpaint #coal #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

Photoshoot today. Not only of the meeting & confer

Photoshoot today. Not only of the meeting & conference room of Terhills Hotel, also of the artist :-).

( #latergram of aug 22)
#art #insituart #terhillshotel #photoshoot #installation #coalpaint #coal #shaft #insitu #eisden #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

Deadline: today It's Sunday, but the niche has to

Deadline: today
It's Sunday, but the niche has to be finished today. Or at least be very, very presentable. Because I will be taking a course the next few days, and there's a photo shoot of the room planned on Tuesday. Due to car trouble I arrive late. No choice but to keep working… It's almost midnight when I've cleaned up.

( #latergram of aug 20)
#art #insituart #behindthescenes #themindofanartist #deadline #workinprogress #coalpaint #installation #insitu #eisden #anvanderlinden

Apparently I worked just a little too long yesterd

Apparently I worked just a little too long yesterday, the vertical strips beneath the coal became too heavy. So here comes the pot of wall paint again. Several transparent layers of coalpaint later, I am still not satisfied. The light coloured horizontal stripe beneath the anthracite is nice, but it shifts the attention. The idea is that your gaze is drawn upwards when you stand in front of the niche. As it is when you stand in front of the shaft tower itself.

( #latergram of aug 19)
#art #insituart #behindthescenes #themindofanartist #workinprogress #workingprocess #coalpaint #installation #insitu #eisden #terhills #terhillshotel #belgianartis #visualartist #anvanderlinden #anvbe

Things are going smoothly today. Rebuilding layer

Things are going smoothly today. Rebuilding layer by layer what I previously painted over, and adding new things.

( #latergram of aug 18)
#art #insituart #workinprogress #coalpaint #installation #coal #insitu #eisden #anvanderlinden

Hooray, now I've got it! I add several layers, and

Hooray, now I've got it!
I add several layers, and finally I see it, the image I want to get to. This is the shape. Phew!
Now elaborate further: add multiple layers and create structure. I start gluing anthracite coal in different thicknesses, so that the light reflects nicely. I want to show here how beautiful coal is. Coal placed on a pedestal, as a tribute to the men who extracted it.

( #latergram of aug. 17 )
#art #insituart #behindthescenes #themindofanartist #workinprogress #coalpaint #installation #antracite #coal #insitu #eisden #anvanderlinden

The quest continues… #art #insituart #behindthes

The quest continues…
#art #insituart #behindthescenes #themindofanartist #doubts #choices

I have been thinking about what to do with the niche for 4 days and nights now, time to act.
First remove the disturbing elements: poorly covered silicone edges: wall paint over it. Too black strip? Wall paint over it. But then... I try everything, I search and search but I can't find it.
I often think back to last year, when I made an in-situ work at @warp_art Warp Art in Sint-Niklaas. When I expressed my doubts in the process to @ilkadw Ilka De Wilde of Stef Van Bellingen, they invariably responded with something like: "you will figure it out". In a tone that left no room for doubt. That gives me even today courage.
I decide to end the day with something that does feel good: applying coal to "the foot". So it can dry overnight.

#workinprogress #coalpaint #installation #wallpaint #startingalloveragain #andagain #anvanderlinden

The coal merchant's daughter While I'm in doubt a

The coal merchant's daughter

While I'm in doubt about my design, duty calls: I have to wash, grind and sift coal.
On day 1, I showed some small paintings to the management over here. They clearly liked the shiny coal, anthracite. I prefer to use coal with a story, therefore I am very gratefull I actually do have antracite coal with a story:
at the end of last year I received an email from someone who said to be the daughter of one of the last coal merchants of Limburg. Her mother still has bags of anthracite, if I can use them? Yes! :-).
Even the size of this coal is perfect to use now in this project. Thank you again, Lieve!

#art #coal #washing #pigment #coalmerchant #antracite #grinding #sifting

The quest. And the panic, too. > EN long read bel

The quest. And the panic, too.
> EN long read below NL text

De zoektocht. En de paniek, die ook.
Dit is nu de 7de dag dat ik hier werk. Ik ben nu tevreden over de ondergrond, maar hoe verder?
Ik bereidde een zwarte cirkel voor op papier als uitgangspunt, maar nu ik die op hang weet ik het niet. Een cirkel is zo… te gewoon? En eigenlijk wil ik een boog, want het feit dat de Eisdense schachtbokken bogen hebben is redelijk uniek. Maar elke boog die ik uitprobeer is het écht niet. Ik probeer vanalles uit, en na een tijd laat ik mijn voorzichtigheid los en haal de grove borstel boven: zwarte verf. Want die zware voet moet zwart, niet? Niet?
Nee dus. Het contrast is te groot. Ik panikeer lichtjes en voeg snel ding na ding toe. Nog een hoek, nog een laag, nog een hoek, halve cirkel…. Het eindresultaat van deze dag werken, is uiteindelijk iets geworden wat ik op zich wel best OK vind, maar het past niet in deze ruimte en heeft niets met de schachtbok te maken. Het plaatje klopt niet.
Ik heb een lang weekend voor de boeg om er verder over na te denken...

EN
The quest. And the panic, too.
This is day 7 now that I'm working here. I am happy so far, but what next?
I prepared a black circle on paper as a starting point, but when I see it on the wall, I'm not sure. A circle is so… too common? And actually I want to use an arch, because the fact that the Eisdense shaft have arches is quite unique. But every bow I try is really not that good. I try out all kinds of things, and after a while I decide to take a risk, and bring in the black paint. Because the heavy foot has to be black, right? Right?
No, absolutely not. The contrast is too high. I slightly panic, and add thing after thing. Another corner, another layer, another corner, half a circle, another square….
At the end of the day it has become something that I can approve as such, but… it does not fit in the space and has nothing to do with the shaft. The whole picture is wrong. I have a long weekend ahead to think this over...

(#latergram)
#art #artistdoubt #insituart #installation #quest #struggle #workinprogress #wallpaintingart #workinprogressart #coalpaint #localcoal #eisden #anvbe #anvanderlinden

I use a lot of masking tape during my painting pro

I use a lot of masking tape during my painting process. I reuse as much as possible, so there are always some used pieces of tape hanging here and there.
One of the consequences of working in situ is that there sometimes also other people present. Today there are a few 'real' painters working in the building. One of them comes hesitantly towards me, with a few rolls of tape in his hands. He looks and nods approvingly at my work, and then shows me his tape, with the words: "maybe this is also good for you?" I respond with "maybe", and to my surprise, he hands me his tape. Me: ”Oh, do you have too many?” "Not really," he answers hesitantly, but.." Then I think I understand: "Oh, maybe yours is better? Thank you so much!!". I continued working for the rest of that day with a big smile. And all went well. How sweet was that. :-)

( #latergram )
#eisden #insitu #coalpaint #terhillshotel #art #inprogress #wall #anvbe #anvanderlinden #sweetstory #kindperson #tape #maskingtape #workinprogress

Do you know what’s more scary then a white canva

Do you know what’s more scary then a white canvas? A white wall 🫣

Plan A was to make a painting of 70x160 cm inside the niche. As a design I edited a photo of the shaft trestle, I would determine its composition by projecting the design onto the niche...
But I didn't like it on site. It was wrong to paint the entire shaft in miniature, while it is so immensely large nearby.
I starte by painting strips on the wall.
A sleepless night later I decide to paint the most impressive image from the room, the foot of the shaft trestle. And not in that small box. The subject is too big, and the niche is too beautiful not to use completely. Even if it is not wise to make something big within the given time frame…

#art #latergram #insitu #doubt #compostion #stepbystep #eisden #shafttower #painting #wallpainting #anvanderlinden #anvbe #coalpaint

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