Kamiel

Kamiel Riske, Pictures of Art Work from the USA :)

2009-03-15T16:42:00.000+01:00

Kamiel Riske, Pictures of Art Work from the USA :)
Hello,

I have pictures of paintings and a sketch. The sketch is signed by Kamiel. There is one painting that is signed. This painting I don t believe is buy Kamiel. The signature says Sabbermans 1943 . the other paintings have no signatures. All the pieces are of my Father. He was born in Antwerp on 11/25/26 his name is Marc Hertsens. He was in the Belgium Army and immigrated to America by ship to Ellis Island in 1949. My name is Sten Hertsens and am 45. I live in Montana. No I m not a Cowboy. I do alot of Bike racing. I guess it s in my blood from my Father. I d like to get to Belgium one of these days and do some Cyclocross racing. The fans are great over there and cheer the racers on, more than in the USA. OK back to the art work. I have number the pictures so they will correspond to my descriptions. #1 is a sketch which is signed by Kamiel is 10 1/2 x 15 3/4 . It s framed under glass. All the paintings are oil and not framed. #2 25 1/2 x 31 1/4 not signed. #3 25 1/2 x 31 1/2 signed Sabbermans 1943 . #4 13 1/2 x 18 3/8 not signed. #5 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 not signed. From My Fathers date of birth (11/25/26), when he immagrated and the signed Sabbermans 1943 you can figure out how old Kamiel was. The sketch lokks like he s older. The smallest looks like he s younger. The 1943 piece would put Kamiel at the age of 22. I hope this will be added to his Gallery and with his Artwork time line. I would be interested to hear about what he might have be like at that time and possibly the relationship with my father or Family members. Take care and have a nice Day. Sten

Kamiel’s poem

2008-08-13T17:48:00.002+02:00

Kamiel’s poem
(Tribute to Mr. Kamiel Riské - 1921-1999) (painter unknown to the public)

Painting your silent life
Was a way to speak your mind
About the puzzling world
Both loved and unloved

The wonderful pictures in your brain
Painted on canvas in a most
Meticulous way
Dear uncle, you can be sure

Your thoughts are here to stay
For they are worth to be captured
By eternity
In a way you would have
Appreciated for new technologies

Always made you keen
To attempt something new
Capturing landscapes was just a start
Copying the classics an art college boy’s gig
Riding your moped
Brought the more magnificent

Figures to be encountered
Unfamiliar enigmas
Those women seemingly
Without shame
Strolling the streets of
The first district
Will now always remain

For they were the last phenomena
You left behind
Often misunderstood
Even you were not to
Comprehend you had
More in common
On account of being
Simultaneously misunderstood

Yesterday's entry - mature content or not?

2007-03-23T18:13:00.000+01:00

After I'd published yesterday's entry I got in a reflective mood. Is the picture of the painting I published and the explanation underneath to be considered as mature content or not.
Basically, the nude lady is just a nude lady, not engaged in any activity.
In some countries similar paintings would be considered pornographic, in other's they can be found in main stream galleries.

Often I find looking at a painting is like reading a book: sometimes you have to read between the lines or when observing a painting, look at the details, interaction between characters. You might be surprised what you find out about the artist.

The gallery goes on!

2007-03-22T21:30:00.000+01:00

It's a long time since I paid Kamiel a visit over here.

In the mean time I did discover some of his other long lost works!

Hmm, this clearly is a red light district painting again, talking to my relatives, I did gain some insight into Kamiel's attitudes towards women. From what you can read in previous posts, Kamiel often felt betrayed by women and never really found a way to deal with his feelings other than painting.

I think this is a shame because he was a nice man who had a lot more to offer than he was able to show. Sometimes I get sad while watching these kind of paintings. I know where the artist's feelings were coming from: a deep lack of appreciation, being judged for what he wasn't good at and not getting the attention he deserved. In this period of his life, he was getting back at all those that had hurt him, but I do understand that these pictures can be hurtful to others as well!

Christmas with Kamiel ...

2006-12-23T17:43:00.000+01:00

As I've told you before, Kamiel was quite a character...

When I was a little girl, we celebrated Christmas at my aunt's, Kamiel's sister in law. She's 82 now, going on 83! In fact, she inspired me to create this blog entirely in honour of Kamiel!

I don't know what Kamiel would have thought seeing his pictures online, but he did love celebrating Christmas! He enjoyed good food and loved the odd prank. Usually, my granddad was the so called victim, but in reality, they had a good understanding and were as bad as each other ...

I was like 4 or 5 years old at the time, but until today I'm still able to visualize their pranks. Some people might be shocked by they behaviour, but everybody had a good time laughing at their practical jokes ...

You must be curious by now! Well my granddad and Kamiel enjoyed teasing each other by stealing food of each other's plates which every year lead to hilarious situations ... Consequently they would love to play to be mad at each other and sometimes my granddad (27/03/1900 - 23/12/1976) would tease Kamiel by trying to steal his hearing aid. This may seem cruel to you, but as strange as it seems, they liked each other and treated each other as equals and not as being old or handicapped!

While reading this post, I discover that today it's exactly 30 years ago my granddad died.
I'd like this post to be a tribute to both Kamiel and my granddad!

Kamiel's holiday...

2006-09-13T17:57:00.000+02:00

It's been a long time since I last worked on Kamiel's blog.
I decided it would be nice to give Kamiel a holiday! In between all the painting he has done throughout his life, I know he enjoyed daytrips to the seaside and holidays in the company of his parents.

Since I last posted here, I discovered some nice holiday pictures featuring Kamiel and family. I'll pick some good one and show them here as soon as possible!

And still more sketches where this came from

2006-07-19T01:37:00.000+02:00

Sketches' gallery

2006-07-19T01:34:00.000+02:00

[Geeks are Sexy] technology news: Free Logo Design for You!

2006-07-19T01:22:00.000+02:00

[Geeks are Sexy] technology news: Free Logo Design for You!
I think Kamiel was very special and his art will always remain very special to me. So I entered this blog in a competition in order to obtain a customized logo that would do Kamiel proud!

Sketches' gallery going on

2006-07-13T14:04:00.000+02:00

Sketches' gallery part going on

2006-07-13T14:00:00.000+02:00

Sketches' gallery part going on

2006-07-13T13:57:00.000+02:00

Sketches' gallery

2006-07-13T00:52:00.000+02:00

Ongoing gallery ..

2006-07-13T00:45:00.000+02:00

The sketchbook proved to be a little treasure! There's more where this came from!

Mini gallery part 2

2006-07-02T15:15:00.000+02:00

Mini gallery

2006-07-02T15:08:00.000+02:00

Mini paintings part 2

2006-06-30T22:11:00.000+02:00

More mini paintings

2006-06-30T21:59:00.000+02:00

I wonder if someone recognizes these locations, please notify me!

Mini paintings

2006-06-30T21:56:00.000+02:00

From sketch till painting, part 2

2006-06-30T21:51:00.000+02:00

These are some of Kamiel's early works. As you can see, he didn't work on canvas yet, but made little paintings in his sketchbook!

Did anyone buy Kamiel's paintings?

2006-06-24T18:08:00.000+02:00

Yes, Kamiel actually did get in contact with people who were interested in buying his painting. Because in his view, there were not many people you could trust in this world, he only sold works to people he particularly liked, or who were very nice to him.

In case anyone reading this blog, owns a painting or any other work by Kamiel Riske, we would very much like to know!

City views: opposites attract

2006-06-24T17:52:00.000+02:00

The pictures we took of Kamiel's work were pretty much taken in the order he produced them.

In this way we are able to reconstruct not only the evolution of his works but also his view on life itself.

His vision of life might not seem a happy one to you.

Maybe, you are wondering if anyone was interested in his works?

Back to the ciy

2006-06-24T17:43:00.000+02:00

Do you also recognize some elements of the early skethes?

And some figures depicted in the later works begin to emerge!

Country landscapes

2006-06-24T17:38:00.000+02:00

Kamiel's life outside the city of Antwerp.

2006-06-24T17:29:00.000+02:00

As you could notice before, Kamiel didn't only created city views, but also landscapes and nature views.
During Word War II, Kamiel was still being protected by his 4-year younger brother Henry while they went on smuggling trips in the country, asking farmers for food. Though Kamiel was a physically very strong man, it was his younger brother Henry who would gather most of the food on those trips...
After an hour of walking, Kamiel would claim to be tired and sat himself at the side of the road, in order to ... paint of course!
What were you thinking?

Painting, Antwerp city street leading to the museum 'Vleeshuis'

2006-06-24T17:23:00.000+02:00

Blue ink drawing, Antwerp city view 2

2006-06-24T17:20:00.000+02:00

Blue ink drawing, Antwerp city view

2006-06-24T17:16:00.000+02:00

Sepia sketch of an Abbey view

2006-06-24T17:08:00.000+02:00

More of the 1st district

2006-06-22T20:17:00.000+02:00

More sketches

2006-06-22T20:09:00.000+02:00

This could be a perfect draft for a painting of Antwerp's 1st district!

Sketches' gallery part 2

2006-06-22T19:51:00.000+02:00

I like these images. They seem to be made in and around an old abbey.

Some abbeys used to provide small houses for the nuns living on their grounds.

In Dutch, those grounds are known as 'begijnhoven'

According to the information I got from Kamiel's next of kin, this could be the 'begijnhof' in Lier near Antwerp.

In case you should recognize places depicted in http://kamielart.blogspot.com, please place a comment under the place you recognize!

Sketches' gallery

2006-06-21T19:36:00.000+02:00

Draft and original reunited!

2006-06-21T19:12:00.000+02:00

Do you see the resemblence?

It's not quite the same, but the sketch was a nice inspiration!

Another early draft

2006-06-20T19:53:00.000+02:00

We know that these sketches were used to create paintings afterwards.

I wonder if we'll find the painting that belongs to this original sketch....

Another early sketch

2006-06-20T19:49:00.000+02:00

Along the river Scheldt

From sketch till painting

2006-06-20T19:39:00.000+02:00

Three stages: a windmill from sketch till painting!

Early landscape (sketch)

2006-06-14T19:25:00.000+02:00

A pretty little sketch, isn't this.
Kamiel used to explore the countryside between Antwerp and Lier.

Some of the nature depicted in these early sketches does not exist any longer. The little river in this drawing is likely to be the Nete.

Early sketches

2006-06-14T19:21:00.000+02:00

Kamiel's original sketchbook which he used to make sketches and drafts of paintings. As a youngster he always this little book on his bike trips.

And now for something completely different

2006-06-14T19:03:00.000+02:00

Kamiel's work wasn't purely erotic.
In fact he started by painting landscapes and local nature.

To find suitable locations, as a young man, he rode around the pre-war country on his bicycle.

The hunt

2006-06-14T18:59:00.000+02:00

One might ask: 'Who's hunting who here?'

Anonymity

2006-06-14T18:53:00.000+02:00

This lady has no face. Therefore nobody will remember here. She looks ready to disappear into anonymity ...

Lady in Red

2006-06-13T22:45:00.000+02:00

Do you notice the wandering/wondering priest?

Man versus woman part 2

2006-06-13T22:42:00.000+02:00

Man versus woman

2006-06-13T22:36:00.000+02:00

Sadly this picture speaks for itself ...

Kamiel's ladies ...

2006-06-13T22:33:00.000+02:00

Kamiel's ladies

2006-06-13T22:19:00.000+02:00

Sadly Kamiel felt betrayed by women and probably the same happened vice versa. Overprotected during his youth, he always seemed to get the wrong end of the stick. Due to several misunderstandings, he ended up thinking al women were bad. This explains why many of his works were inspired by the Antwerp red light district ...

Though he was a strong and handsome man, he never managed to have one relationship in his life.

I think this is very sad, because whatever you may think of this paintings, Kamiel had many qualities! Personally, I even like his erotic works, even though the philosohy behind them is a sad one.

Kamiel and the ladies

2006-06-11T20:44:00.000+02:00

In this painting here, Kamiel was being inspired by one of the Belgian surrealists.

In real life, his relations with women in general tended to be a bit of a surrealistic nature as well.

Well aware of his restrictions, when it came to making conversation, Kamiel was a little bit shy to approach women. This could lead to ludicrous situations, leaving the women in question puzzled or baffled.

In short Kamiel never got the response he wanted: to be able to ask a lady to dance was near to impossible for him. Because of the communication problems he always seemed to get it wrong somehow!

As he grew older, he sadly came to the conclusion that all women were bad. This image was often to be found in his works ...

Kamiel's world, continued from cobbler to painting houses

2006-06-07T15:46:00.000+02:00

Kamiel was a trained cobbler and persued this trade until he was 50 years old and his boss had to stop his business due to economical reasons.

Kamiel was offered a job as a ... Professional painter ... Of houses and social apartments like the ones you can see on the picture.

By this time Kamiel still lived with his parents in a similar building. He continued to paint houses until he reached the age of 59.

At that time, his mother decided it was in Kamiel's best interest to stop working!

Kamiel's world (part2)

2006-06-07T15:39:00.000+02:00

This is a more up to date view of the Antwerp neighbourhood called Kiel. Here you can see the Abdijstraat near to what it looked like at the end of Kamiel's life.

Kamiel's world. (part 1)

2006-05-22T21:31:00.000+02:00

All of his life, Kamiel lived in an Antwerp neighbourhood called Kiel, (apart from the name, the neighbourhood has no resemblance whatsoever with the German city with the same name)

One of the well known streets in this neighbourhood is a street called Abdijstraat. In Kamiel's youth it already was known for his shops and today it still is.

Recently the street and it's surroundings got a make over and a new shopping center opened it's doors only a few weeks ago!

Kamiel, inspirated by Dali

2006-05-18T15:28:00.000+02:00

Apart from Isidore Opsomer, Kamiel got his inspiration from studying the work of other artists like Dali, Rubens, Verlat and Andre Delvaux.

There sure was a evolution to be spotted in his work: from realism to impressionism, from impressionism to surrealism later on in life.

Again, while experimenting with a new style, he started out by copying and then started to produce more original works by his own hand!

Baron Isidore Opsomer

2006-05-15T20:42:00.000+02:00

This is a self-portrait by Isidore Opsomer, Kamiel's teacher and great inspiration.

From cobbler's apprentice to artist

2006-05-15T20:24:00.000+02:00

Kamiel started drawing and painting from a very early age. His brother Henri remembers Kamiel drawing at the age of 8 or 9!

Being hard of hearing he attended a local special elementary school for the deaf near to a street called 'Kielse Vest'. This street still exists in Antwerp.
The school however moved to a nearby street in the same neighbourhood.

After completing this elementary school, he was trained to be a professional cobbler.
Then, he was introduced to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Now this Academy is primarily known for his fashion department. The Academy is still to be found at the Mutsaertstraat in Antwerp.

In his teens, Kamiel was thaught by Opsomer, again a well known Flemish artist. Baron Opsomer thought highly of Kamiel's talents and was great inspiration in his artistic life.

Joseph and Mary

2006-05-15T20:17:00.000+02:00

Another copy of a Flemish original.
When he was still a young man, Kamiel sought inspiration in the works of old Flemish masters.

But where and by whom did he get his artistic education?

Still (a) Life ?

2006-05-13T12:04:00.000+02:00

This still life might seem weird to you.
Why did Kamiel put a skull on the table, next to a rosary and a candle?

Well, since he isn't around anymore, we cannot ask him.

To me it seems like a statement, life being connected to death and the other way round.

Also, we pray for the dead and burn candles in honour of our loved ones, whichever religion we belong to or spiritual cult for that matter!

Antwerp, somewhere in the 1st district

2006-05-10T20:39:00.000+02:00

Because he didn't own a driver's license, Kamiel used ride his Vespa moped through the city and countryside in search of landmarks or special places in order to depict them in his paintings.

I must say, he did them all proud!

Hilda Van denbergh painted by Henri Van Bourgonie

2006-05-09T22:58:00.000+02:00

This is painting is not by Kamiel but by Henri Van Bourgonie, a portrait of Hilda Van denbergh, my aunt and Kamiel's sister in law.
Henri Van Bourgonie is Kamiel's half-brother and my uncle.

Though she looks very serious in this oil painting, at 82 (born may 3th, 1924) my aunt Hilda is a very easy going person who likes to enjoy life!

Early work

2006-05-09T22:40:00.000+02:00

This painting is a copy of an original by Karel Verlat, a famous Flemish painter.

In fact, up until this very day, the original is to be found in one of the exhibition halls, adjacent to the Antwerp Zoo ...

Later, Kamiel developed, from being a mere copy-cat, to his own style!

Kamiel's parents' marriage certificate

2006-01-24T20:44:00.000+01:00

Kamiel's father's birth certificate

2006-01-24T20:38:00.000+01:00

One of Kamiel's paintings

2006-01-23T19:54:00.000+01:00

As Kamiel was living in Antwerp throughout whole his life, I posted one of his painting in one of my other blogs: http://mylifeinantwerp.blogspot.com

You can see the link to this painting in my previous log.

For now, I'm taking a break from blogging.
My Dutch boyfriend is moving in with me and we both have a lot of work at our hands decluttering both of our current houses ...

Hope to be back in 2 week's time!

Love from Antwerp!

Living in Antwerp, Belgium

2006-01-23T19:53:00.000+01:00

Living in Antwerp, Belgium

Kamiel's birth certificate

2006-01-17T18:30:00.000+01:00

Who was Kamiel Riske?

2006-01-17T13:39:00.000+01:00

Kamiel Riske was born on May 8th 1921 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Actually, his father also was called Kamiel (born in Temse, on February 25th 1893)
His mother was called Maria Suetens (Born in Antwerp on March 3th 1901)
Unfortunately Kamiel's father never lived to an old age. Sadly he died around his 30th birthday and as a consequence, Kamiel never knew his biological father.
At 6 months of age Kamiel contracted the measles which left him hard of hearing. As a result of this, he encountered difficulties when learning to speak properly.

But help was soon to arrive when is mother remarried mr. Van Bourgonie, who raised Kamiel as a son of his own. Soon after the marriage (in 1925) Kamiel's younger brother (Henri, also called Rik Van Bourgonie was born)

Throughout their lives both brothers had a special bond. Though Rik was the younger one, he was the one encouraging Kamiel learning to communicate and to live his life to the fullest!

Kamiel as a young man

2006-01-17T11:39:00.000+01:00

Self portrait

Kamiel in his early twenties ...

Quite a handsome young man don't you think?
Despite his good looks and his intelligence he never was able to establish a stable relationship.

Kamiel was thaught how to speak later than you would normally expect: in the early 20th century, people just did not have access to diagnostics or didactic means that are available to children and adults with hearing problems.

Though hard of hearing, Kamiel didn't exactly have a speech impediment. He more had some kind of grammar impediment. In my memory he possessed a good vocabulary but lacked the ability necessary to produce correct sentences...

This had a huge impact on his social life. People who were not familiar with his condition often thought Kamiel was some sort of a retard or weirdo.

Well, they thought wrong!

You will find out in the next episode of this blog!