Web Shop

It's getting closer to December and I'm still trying to find out what to do with my life.
But on a more serious note I am having a good time in Hove and have a lot of fresh inspiration and ideas to go with. One of those ideas has already turned into something real. Today I opened my first web shop on my website. I have made a new series of post cards from my latest series of screen prints (including my latest), and put them up on the site. I thought it would be a good time to finaly try something like this as I have always been interested in it. These days it is getting easier and easier to set something up like that and the only really hard thing is to figure out how the tax and payment systems work. So if you feel like getting some amazing cards to send something truly unique for Christmas or just something for yourself to enjoy (or maybe just to support a struggling artist ;) ). make sure to have a look at my new web shop. I am giving away free shipping if you buy the complete set until the 5th of December (just use coupon code: 689) so don't let that hold you back. Alternatively for those of you outside the Netherlands or UK please feel free to contact me if you are interested in getting a set as my shop is not yet set up for dealing outside of those countries yet.

http://www.sanderschoonbeek.com/shop

Bus

Besides taking some more pictures I have also been able to finish up a print I have been wanting to make for a long time. It has been a bit more difficult getting the color the way I wanted and I think it looks better in real life than on the picture but you will get the idea.
I am still getting used to living in Brighton (Hove) and am trying to find my way into the local "art scene". So far I found a nice little artist collective which I am hoping to join (someday).
Also the temperature outside is starting to drop and I am loosing the illusion of a never ending summer (moving here from Scotland it is definitely warmer though).

I hope you are all ok and still enjoying my update's.

The Untitled (Bus) print is made in a series of 8 all colored in by hand (110 x 74cm.).

The Residency ends

It has been a weird couple of months, with my first solo show in the Netherlands and the Artist in Residence at the glass program in Edinburgh coming to an end. I have been going about quite a bit and that makes it all feel a little surreal. Not being able to find (or get) a job that I would really want here in Edinburgh made me decide it might be time to move on to the next adventure. Failing to persuade my wife to move to Japan (still not giving up on that though ;) ), we have decided to move to Brighton. This because it is just a much better location for going to the Netherlands (from Edinburgh you either have to fly or spend 18 hours on a boat if I want to bring some of my work along). It is also a city with an interest in art as there are many gallery's and it is very close to London. So who knows I might actually have more to blog about!

Before I am leaving though I want to show a little bit more about the stuff I am working on at the moment. It is kind of a strange closing as it feels that I am leaving with what started it all. You might remember the many efforts I made trying to make a mold of the USA cutout and how difficult it was to get it the way I wanted. Well I didn't give up and this week I was able to take the first of 2 out of the kiln. It is so strange when you spend so long trying to get every detail to show up in the mold starting over and over until you get it right. Well it amazed me that when I took the piece out of the mold and I didn't even care that all that detail failed to show up in the glass. I got back to what I enjoy most in my work, that little uncontrollable element that makes it come out just a little different than you anticipated.

well here is a little preview of the first piece, it's time to think about how to move on from here.

I want to thank all the people that I came to know and got close to me during my time here in Edinburgh, I will miss you!

New Event

Before my show will end in August there will be one more event held at the gallery.
This time it will be a night event with enough to do! There will be a little tour (led by myself), and some poetry by Shinta Lempers. The night will also reveal more of the projections that have been shown together with my work. So if you are interested, haven't been yet or just want to enjoy another great night, please feel free to come along! After this the show will be open until the 4th of August.

I did a quick translation of the invite so please forgive me for any mistakes. I will put up the original version (in Dutch) on my website soon.

Radio

During the first week of my show I have been interviewed for by the local radio station (L1). It was an exciting day and Despite being quite nervous I think the interview came out quite well. Thanks to Emil en de Kunst and also to Laura post who I think did better than me!


Click on the linkto hear the interview!

http://www.l1.nl/audio/emil-en-kunst-sander-schoonbeek-29-jun-2013

Opening

I'm once more sorry to keep all of you waiting for another update. Things have been busy again but in a good way. I have had an amazing opening thanks to Laura Post and Gallery Post + Garcia. I never had a show this big and it was amazing to see all my work together in one room. I was also pleased to see so many people at my opening and would like to thank everyone who managed to come out and see the show.

Stickers

I have been over in Maastricht to bring the first load of screenprints and the space looked amazing (and even bigger then I remembered).
Today I received yet another pleasant e-mail showing that the stickers for the show have been fitted on the windows.

Galerie Post + García

I was pleasantly surprised earlier this evening, when I went to the website of Galerie Post + García (http://www.postgarcia.nl/home). Not only did I find some of my pictures on their main page but I also found they put my on their artist page. It is a bit strange still I have to admit having a picture of my work next to that of one of my childhood examples (Alexander Vogels). One of my early memories as a child was going to one of his openings with my parents where I even got to sit next to him during dinner. 

For those who haven't seen the complete invite for my show (which will already open next week) here is the complete info:

Again a big thank you is in order to both Galerie Post + García and Laura Post who Curated the whole show.

Poster

Just a quick update before heading out.
I just received a very nice e-mail from the gallery where I am going to exhibit in the Netherlands.
They made a poster for my exhibition and wanted to share it with me.
I am very excited and can't wait to go over there on the 28th.
A special thank you goes out to Peter and his daughter Laura Post.

Wrecsam

Lat weekend I went to Wrecsam (Wales), to see the opening of their Print International show.
This show includes 4 of my large prints and is held over 3 different locations. The opening was well attended and the show looked great. I am happy that Rhian Haf convinced me to sign up for this show as I was a bit hesitant to do so.

Besides going to Wales I also managed to finish another collage using various rust effects. I am quite happy with the result and hope I will find a nice home for it some day (please feel free to contact me ;) ).

And as always look at my website for more work, but also feel free to like my Facebook page and make sure to check it out for every now and then!

Website Design

I once more decided to change the design of my website. I felt it was time to make it a bit more fitting to my work and made a connection with the material I use for my screen prints. I scanned a big sheet of it and used it as the background. I also redid the layout of the pictures to give it a little more of that designers look.
I hope you like it make sure you check out the prints page and the collage page as I think they came out quite nice.


www.sanderschoonbeek.com

Light boxes

Many months later I finally managed to produce something with my initial idea (even though it came out differently than initially anticipated). I created 3 different light boxes with a rusted surface, and I am quite happy with the result.
If you are interested they can be made in any size and shape.

Here is a little preview but check out my website for all of them:
http://www.sanderschoonbeek.com/?page_id=37

New Prints Online

As I already posted on my Facebook page, I now have the first 3 prints of my latest series on my website. As I am still working on the rest of them it might be a while before they are all on there but I felt like it was time to share some new work.

Please go and have a look on my website under the print section, I hope you like them.

www.sanderschoonbeek.com

Model Drawing

Last week I was asked if I liked to teach a life drawing class (they needed someone to fill in due to absence). I gladly took up the challenge but have to say I was quite nervous right up to the start this morning. Luckily the model was very experienced and didn't need much guidance at all. The class wasn't very large either so it was good for a first time teaching. It was very nice to work with the second years of the glass department and later on even one of the 3rd years came and joined it. Apparently they did enjoyed it because they are trying to figure out if I can fill in next week as well!

I took a little extra time to set up since the classroom was a bit boring.

And here are the students working on their drawings
  

Series 2 Part 2

I found some more time this week to finish the last of my screen prints. This means I know only have to color them by airbrush. Unfortunately this is the hardest part as I need to figure out which color works best and how to do it. I am making these series in editions of 8 so it's going to be a lot of airbrushing. I have finished 3 out of 6 so far and am wondering about 1. not sure if the series will be 5 or 6 different prints in the end.

Here's a little preview of the last picture I printed today:

Series 2

Besides failing a lot of stuff lately I also managed to create some prints this week. I am working on a second series of airbrushed screenprints and have printed the first 4 images this week. Hopefully this weekend I will find some time to try out some airbrush and see what color works best.

A little preview of my printing in progress (let me know if you can guess the car on that one), and a finished screenprint waiting for some color.

Wrecsam

Thank you for your recent application to Print International, we are pleased to inform you of your success in being selected.

Thats how the e-mail started that I found in my inbox yesterday. A big thank you goes out to Rhian Haff who told me about this exhibition in Wales and pushed me to apply for it.

This means I will have another show where my work is going to be exhibited, 4 prints in total.
I am very excited about this and got lot's of new things on my mind for new work.

I will keep you updated on this.

Always working

As you can't force or shut down creativity, I often find myself working in the weekends (have to say its actually quite nice when its quiet in the college). This time I am still trying to get my panels to rust the way I want them too, which is more difficult then I thought. At least they are finally rusting and hopefully I can finish at least one of them soon.

Instagram

As if there weren't enough way to share information with each other, I have now decided to give Instagram a try. I'm not completely sure how it works yet but it seems better then Lightbox which I used to use. I have uploaded some cutout of pictures I am thinking about of using for a new series of screenprints, just to have a little look at them myself. If you are interested and not annoyed by switching between all these different websites have a look on http://instagram.com/sander_schoonbeek.

Study

A new year and finaly a new post. I have been putting it off since the project I have been working on kept failing. Severall moulds later I am still having the same problem trying to create what I want in glass. Therefor I have decided to make some studies out of a different matterial first and if I feel they are succesfull enough I might then choose to go for the glass once more. At this moment I cutted out severall shapes out of 6mm mdf with the lasercutter. I am now layering these pannels with pva glue mixed with steel powder. I will later on use either water or a chemical to make this rust so the wooden pannel will then look like a metal rusted surface. Here is a picturemof where I am now and hopefully I will be able to show more a little sooner this time.