DINOSAUR DAY NDSM Amsterdam 2015

Build A DinoSaur Weekend Workshop at NDSM ....... on the weekend of the 14th/15th of November we will be en mass assembling one of the largest upcycle sculptures we have ever undertaken ... so come along grab a paint brush and help us to build our very own dinosaur ! instruction / supervision in English and Dutch so come on by and bring the kids of course ! only 5 euro's ( all materials included ) per child per day ,we look forward to seeing you there
for all general inquiries please contact artbyvalerio@hotmail.co.uk
or call 06588 76384

Art op de Amstel!

For a very short time we are looking to offer small classes and groups from our wonderful temporary position on The Amstel in Amsterdam ! our location is a wonderful and charming atmosphere based in a former Squat right next to De Omval Cafe op de Amstel ! the authenticity of the venue is absolutely exquisite and is the perfect place to come and take part in any of our class options be it basic introduction to Art .....or introduction to still life , or even life drawing , beginning options for graffiti workshops ! with so many options and prices starting from only 10 Euro's per hour ....or 25 euro for a day session ( approx 5 hours )...Why not ?

instruction for all levels and ages in

Illustration

Watercolors

acrylics

Oils

Sculpture

Mural/Graffiti

Custom Bike Workshops

Build A Dinosaur Workshops

As well as our ongoing one of and series session classes we offer a creative therapeutic hour for those in the corporate towers next door who just need to unwind and break or make something in their lunch break ! and of course if we cant tempt you with any of our home made light bites then De Omval Cafe will sure to be able you offer suitable refreshment after a lively creative session...

please feel free to contact us for inquiries about our ongoing syllabus or even to book a one off hour class / session.



of the introductory courses can be block booked for additional discount !

all inquiries can be made via the ArtbyValerio social media links or directly through artbyvalerio@hotmail.co.uk

we look forward to hearing from you x

and now for something similar ... but different x

' 13 '

I have been re considering an earlier theme of works of late .... the general essence of the amorphous mandala can still be seen as the major theme , however with the incessant desire mankind has to over assign familiarity to foreign principle , so that we might better grapple with the unfathomable I am purposefully and playfully interjecting slightly more insistence in the topographical nuances and suggestible innuendo, each of these pieces will be orientated around specific themes ,.... in small sets of two and three panel pieces, however the specific descriptions and names of the pieces will be limited to a seemingly random number which will have a specific research-able relevance indicating a its strongest reference , through Architecture , Philosophy , Physics , and Mythology , in many instances themes can and will run in parallel, just to keep the eye and the mind guessing !

we must flee ..... Spectacular Art Sale 09 October 2015 x

https://www.facebook.com/events/1020521144654094/?object_id=1020521144654094&event_action_source=48

Its all a learning curve !

All work and no play ..... encourages Jack to pour himself 

This bass relief sculpture is one of a series , the really remarkable this about these sculptures is not that they are completely hand carved using only small craft blades or the stunning material in which they are rendered ( red ceder slabs ) 

the really remarkable thing is that these stunning pieces of wood , a wood native to Northern  America 

'On most sites eastern redcedar grows slowly, and long rotations are required to produce conventional sawlogs. Because the wood is used for small items, however, and there is wide latitude in acceptable defects, shortening of rotations and intermediate harvesting of merchantable wood are possible. About 20 to 30 years are required for posts and 40 to 60 years for sawtimber (11,25)'.

The above excerpt is from USDA forest service on line reference concerning juniperus virginiana !

these pieces of wood that are an absolute delight to work with and yet they were simply discarded ... thrown out for land fill , having been seen to be unfit for someones kitchen after what can only be assumed was limited use .....

so there is this tree growing down on the gulf of mexico somewhere its taken it 60 years to get to its current state amid the scenery it sits ........ so some one over here in europe can have a kitchen worktop for a couple of years before throwing it out on the street so that it can be hauled away in great big gasoline consuming vans to big man made holes in the ground and dumped in there with all of the out of vogue phones and outdated p.c's .

but then why not ,... why stop there ...when you can get some guy in some remote once scenic valley  blow huge chunks of granite out of a mountain and send you that ... thats what you need .... that will make the place just right.....indeed just what the kitchen needs !

this really has descended into some sort of clearly visible raving madness !

The Vultures of Amsterdam Land

Why I love the Girls of the Red Light !

It is easy to remain confused about the importance and sometimes even the basis of a well formed opinion these days! Although maintaining a fixed perspective is of course a very constrictive means of living as well, but the level of personally biased information we are constantly being fed can be enough to eschew even a well informed yet open minded opinion.

Personally ...... I love the Girls of the Red Light District ...... every single one of them !

Its easy to forget that aside from the services they provide for the braying members of the British , American and German stag parties ......cheering and jeering in their alcohol and drug induced manias at the pretty little creatures that adorn the windows and doorways of Amsterdam's Red Light District.

Unfortunately, no! The watered down , Walt Disney , everything for recreation and indulgence has led us far astray from the functionality and importance of the original purpose..... kind of in the same way that organized religion , or even the military complex abandoned their lofty ideals for the glitz and glamour, pomp and ceremony of the mere ritual , the presence and the visage.

When it comes to the girls of the Red Lights , it is of course important to keep in mind that there are some fairly macabre elements at play in this world , I also know that the machinations of evil and greedy people ..... certainly in this day and age, tends to hold the perverting sway to to the formation of common policy! but remember this ...... hell hath no fury like a women scorned !

Unfortunately what the great middle class tourist trade tends to forget, is that the city center of Amsterdam,Venice or even London, Paris or Berlin Have become are ready rendered scenes for you your selfie stick and your facebook page. These places are now filled with minimum wage service staff, for the students and tourists that occupy these once proud hubs of culture and enterprise !
All so the great middle class tourist can for a week or so of their meager existence are able and enabled to feel superior to their fellow human beings , under the insane justifications of working hard and deserving this !?

If we remove the attitude of being perpetually hard done by ......of all of those preconceived notions that ' we work as hard if not harder than anyone we know' and the idea that we simply deserve all of the little superficial treats and indulgences that our ill gotten wages will afford us !

Let us try to remember that a young women selling an intimate experience foe a mere fifty euro's, is a person. A person that went through a youth an adolescence and a whole lifetimes experiences, prior to you drooling at her and daring your mate to ' have a go ' because his wife or girlfriend or whatever isnt here on holiday with them ! from an impartial observers point of view ...... it is all a terribly tawdry mess !

Personally I liken these girls more to nurses than the Hollywood nympho whores from our warped western porno interpretations.
I am sure there are some girls that are being exploited, but these days especially in places like the Netherlands this is becoming a much less common occurrence.

Which is exactly why the natural fabric wearing feminists ideals , and common argument that these women need to be saved is so misguided and in truth dangerous !

Let is just imagine for a moment that the world is not like the advertisements we attempt to build our lives around, that not everyone has perfect teeth , perfect hair and a perfect sense of well being to match the balance of some high interest account and a perfect balance of work and home life !

lets for the sake of this little story , imagine that we are.... perhaps a little older than we are ..... or less attractive than we are ........ maybe we were divorced widowed or even perpetually single ? Hard to imagine for some ! but thsi imaginary position of loneliness is very real to some ! And it is for these people that the ever welcoming embrace of the Girls of the Red Light District will remain ever important !

In an age where the internet offers poor substitution for genuine human contact and interaction, it is all the more important for these girls ...... those strong enough ..... or weak enough  ( depending on your own warped preconceived notions )  to be able to carry on representing one of , if not the oldest professions any of our ramshackle cultures have been able to maintain for millenia

The things that continue to bring foreign tourists to foreign cities was never the guarantee that they could get their usual Starbucks coffee or MacDonald happy meal at the destination that they could get from tye point of origin !

This is the great mistake of the contemporary consumerist culture.

Its fine being able to visit Armani or Luis Vuitton in any city ...... but it wont be a reason to go there, so lets not forget this as the speculators lay waste to the last interesting spaces , and as the elected authorities attempt to ' clean up ' the Red light District in an attempt to turn it into another hellish clone of Kalverstraat ..... or SoHo ....... or rodeo drive ......... or Saint marks square ...... with no new legacies of excellence being forged, just the regurgitation of easily identifiable brands controlled by the perpetual greed of the shareholders that come to look at and take photos of the cities that used to exist around their investments!

Real Art News: Watch this Space ...... V's Place ( Vey's Plaat ) ...

Real Art News: Watch this Space ...... V's Place ( Vey's Plaat ) ...: I had to take a few minutes just to throw a graphic together cos its getting closer and closer ......WTS

Holy Shit .... UPDATE 2018 !! 

weesperzijde has been destroyed by the Gemeente !!! WTF 

a pertinent end !!!

but not to worry.... still kicking around the city, in some of the more interesting and still independent spaces left here , check out ADM/ Ruighoord/ OT301... and of course NDSM Werf  one of my newest temporary bases of 'operations ' ....



all things are temporary, or so it seems in this perpetually transient existence of having to fix up other peoples properties every couple of years or so .... cest la vie I guess ,maybe I should just go and sell some sufficiently heated , wholesale cheap meat products to a braying public instead

I am sure I would make a million ;) 

Happy Easter with love from Amsterdam x