Walter Dermul

Apart from some months at the Antwerp academy, I have no formal training in art or painting.
In my earlier career I worked as a strategist in marketing communications and advertising. Even up to today I work as an independent brand strategy consultant. But more and more this is being taken over by this other passion of mine : oil painting.

Since a couple of years now I got into a relatively stable routine of exploring the ins and outs of painting on canvas. I love the lively plasticity of oil paint. With each brushstroke I push and pull the colors – almost like sculpting – into shapes with expression. In contrast to oil, I hate acrylic, which I find a ‘dead material’.

I focus on representational subjects. Sources of inspiration come from different sides. I guess most of my work tries to portray real people and their emotions. It can be portraits of people I know or scenes from news items – such as the recent refugee crisis in Syria. I start from photos that I have taken myself of the subject, or pictures that I find on news sites. The biggest challenge is ‘seeing’ and translating the essence and the details into a new speaking and striking image.

My recent body of work deals with interpersonal relations. I can be deeply move...

Industrial Psychology and Marketing.

As an artist I am self taught.

• march/april 24 : ‘Like humans do’ - solo in De witte merel, Lint
• december/january 24 : Introspectie/Retrospectie - solo Galerie Martin Van Blerk, Antwerpen
• november 23 : ‘Kunst met Fiere Margriet’ - group, Lions Club Leuven/Adem, Bierbeek
• september 23 : Volta 12 - group in Volta , Brussel
• september/oktober 23 : Sequence 020 - group in Le Neuf Gallery / Rivoli, Brussel
• june 23 : group 44ste Kunstprijs Sint-Pieters Woluwe / selected
• may 23 : I am King – group KunztHuiz - Abdijsite van Herkenrode (Hasselt)
• march/april 23 : This must be the place – solo Galerij Artisjok, Lier
• october 22: Behind closed doors – solo in Galerie Martin Van Blerk, Antwerpen
• augustus 22 : Puur Kunst – group in Garemijnzaal, Brugge
• may/june 22 : solo in Le Neuf Gallery / Rivoli, Brussel
• january/february 22 : 19th Gaverprijs – group in cc De Schakel, Waregem – selected
• november/december 21 : Bella Ciao – group - Art27 in Heusden-Zolder
• october 21/january 22 : solo – AZ Sint Maarten, Mechelen
• september 21 : Kunst in het Dorp – group, kasteel-klooster Ter Loo in Bellingen
• september 21 : KNOFlook ’21 – art walk in Heule/Kortrijk
• july/september 21 : It’s a miracle we ever met – group, Stichting Ijsberg/Belgicart, Damme
• july/...