1st of september … Back to school !

The new school year 2022 - 2023 at my local academy in ‘Sint-Niklaas’ has started again.

This will be my 9th year (model) drawing already. Time sure does fly.

As always it is a pleasure to see back the teacher, models and fellow students. After 2 months of ‘holidays’ it always feels a bit like ‘home coming’ when we enter the class room again.

The first lessons I typically practise model sketching to get myself back into the habbit of drawing. In the meanwhile I am slowly preparing and thinking about the directions I want to take with my running art series ‘Digital Waves’, ‘Desperate Poses’ and ‘March 2 Infinity’.

Looking forward to yet another creative year.

Steven

The academy started the ‘Academy on Air’ initiative to stimulate art students to continue to work from home on there art works and to show pictures of there working spot via the social media.

As the school is still closed due to the corona virus outbreak this should help in motivating the students and to continue the school year.

The academy created a nice banner and the idea is to take a picture that includes the banner in your working spot, together with your new work, yourself at work, anything really …

The academy then regularly shows the pictures within their social media.

I took a picture of my atelier showing in the mirror a new drawing I have been working on.

So far I have been able to create a number of new drawings based upon my digital waves art series.

During Whats App video sessions I then discuss my progress with my teacher Benny. It is obviously not the same as the real life contact & advice but nevertheless it works and it is a great help.

Last weekend of the 25/26th of January there was the 2 yearly event ‘Night of the academy’ which features a non-stop flow of events at the art & music academy in my home town Sint-Niklaas.

The event started at 12:00 saturday and lasted through the night until 12:00 on sunday.

I participated together with my fellow art student Wilfried at the ‘1 hour expositions’ event in which every hour a new exposition started with art of the students.

We both showed 4 pieces - Wilfried showed his latest oil portraits while I showed my latest charcoal drawings from my ‘digital waves’ series.

We both had a great time and enjoyed our one hour of fame :P

I want to thank Wilfried for sharing his 1 hour spot with me and our teacher ‘Benny’ for making this happen.

The exhibition ‘Disegno (Drawing) - The drawing as a process’ is on display in the academy of Sint-Niklaas.

This exhibition consists of 2 parts in which drawing is represented as a process in all its facets - ’the result’ (part 1) and ’the sketch / design as the basis of an artistic process’ (part 2).

“Sketches and designs form the basis of an artistic process. They illustrate the often fascinating quest of artists and students. They show the process that precedes the product. However, the sketch can also stand on its own, as a diary fragment or independent work of art, in 2D or 3D The intimacy and vulnerability of the sketch shows very nicely how an artist follows a certain path and arrives at the end result.

We devote the second part to sketches by both contemporary artists and old masters, in addition to the sketchbooks and design drawings of our teachers and students from all degrees.”

In this 2nd part, sketches of the teachers and students of the academy are also exhibited. Including 4 sketches of myself from the digital waves art series.

The exhibition can be seen in the square room of the academy and runs from 6 April to 19 May 2019.

I am proud to announce that I got my degree after following 4 years of model drawing at the academy of Sint-Niklaas.

I will take a well-deserved break of 2 months and enjoy the summer.

In September I will then start a specialization model drawing course for 2 years at the same academy.

I am looking forward to continue to work on my art series ‘Digital Waves’.

The 2018 annual graduation exposition of the academy of Sint-Niklaas at the Bau-Huis during the weekend of the 9th/10th of June was a great success.

Over 125 students graduated and showed their creative talents in a variety of crafts, materials and mediums in the 3 exposition rooms.

I am happy to announce I graduated as well after 4 years model drawing.  This class has been a great experience in which I slowly transformed from doing traditional large model drawings into my own little universe of combining models with my own theme(s).

With the exposition I had the opportunity to show an overview of my drawings from my art series ‘Digital Waves’ which tackles the current waves of new technology that are impacting mankind.

The exposition was overall a great success for all students & teachers and personally I received a lot of positive feedback and appreciation … thanks to everyone that came along and said hi. 

The next coming months I am taking a well deserved vacation from the academy to think about what I will be doing next … and hopefully to do some paintings and drawings as well …

Time goes fast when you are having fun. I am currently in the 4th and last year of the model drawing classes at the academy and I am graduating.

I will therefore be part of the graduation exhibition where one can see art works of all graduating students from all disciplines.

I will be at site during the whole weekend.  Feel free to come by and say hi.