My grandfather Robert Uleyn, my mother's father, was a Sunday painter. This means he was a non-professional painter and unschooled. His true profession was being a schoolteacher and he painted during his spare time. My youngest brother Kristoffel is the lucky owner of his sketchbook. Below you see some pages of this small book. Sometimes he made preliminary sketches with the aim of painting it at a later stage. I put some sketches next to the painting. I love the annotations of the colors he wanted to use.
This pencil drawing was made by my grandfather (1894-1967). It is a portrait that he made of his sister Anna. It is the only portrait I know of, he was actually a landscape painter. But I love this drawing a lot and in real life it has that velvety texture.Some of my father's alphabets, as they were made ready to be printed in his first book in the 50's. He always worked on squared paper with Indian, waterproof ink and retouching with white gouache.
I'm working on a book, inspired by the journals of my maternal grandfather. The biggest part of his diaries is about World War I, but there are also stories and anekdotes of when he was a child, getting into mischief with his friends. He grew up in a very small village in West-Flanders where his father was a forester for a castle's lord. At the age of 16, he emigrated to the USA with his parents, brother and little sister. It's been a revelation to read these two diaries and to find out how his life was. I've already made a page about his life during WWI and I hope that other pages will follow!Our family is the lucky owner of two of my grandfather's journals. He wrote these diaries aged 70. He's telling about his childhood in a small village in Flanders. He describes himself as a little rascal who, from time to time, got into mischief with his friends. He writes about his elementary school years and his time in high school. Then about his decision to become a teacher, but how these studies were interrupted by the whole family going to America to find prosperity. How they came back, probably because they missed their homeland. How the First World War began just after they came back and he had to become a soldier, more specifically a stretcher-bearer, in and near the trenches of Flander's fields. How he continued his studies in the trenches in very poor conditions by candlelight and among the rats. After the war, he met his future wife. He became head teacher, married and got 4 children. My mother was the third in a row. These two journals are a real treasure and they inspire me to maybe make a illustrated book with some of the texts. I started in my sketchbook with some ideas and I'll see what will come out!
Not my own work this time, but from my talented daughter. For her Master's project she worked on this children's book about jazz and jazz musicians. Since the target audience are children, she used animals alternating with musicians and charming short stories about their lives. There was also a CD included with songs from the book. Below some spreads of JAZZZOO!A while ago I posted a picture of my family tree on my mother's side. This one is on my father's side. On the left there is the handwriting of my great grandfather. He had to write a dictation in order to be admitted to become a customs officer. He passed the test! Below there is his picture and at the right some military papers. The oldest ancestor I found so far was born in 1652. I'll keep searching!
I dug up these New Year's cards from over the past twenty years or so. They're all made by my siblings, my daughter and me. The beginning of a new year is a perfect moment for showing them once more! Liesbet Boudens Jeroen Boudens Kristoffel Boudens Joke Boudens Liesbet Boudens Liesbet Boudens Jeroen Boudens Joke Boudens Kristoffel Boudens Kristoffel Boudens Liesbet Boudens Liesbet Boudens Jeroen Boudens Liesbet Boudens Kristoffel Boudens Kristoffel Boudens Fleur
Een jaar geleden ging ik op zoek naar de verborgen stukjes van mijn stamboom. Ik heb altijd een liefde gehad voor geschiedenis. Het is fascinerend om de verhalen van mijn voorouders te leren kennen en de dingen die ze hebben meegemaakt. Ik ben de gelukkige bezitter van dozen vol oude foto's, bidprentjes, overlijdensberichten, doodsbrieven, dagboeken en testamenten. Ik ontdekte veel interessante feiten. Sommige voorouders kwamen uit Frankrijk of zijn naar Nederland verhuisd, sommigen waren criminelen en sommigen waren ridders. De meesten waren eenvoudige mensen uit de arbeidersklasse maar ik vond ook enkele burgemeesters terug. Vorige maand ben ik bezig geweest met het maken van een concertinaboekje met mijn voorouders in vrouwelijke lijn. Ik heb uiteindelijk negen generaties op papier gezeten en ik hoop in de komende weken en maanden nog meer generaties te vinden! Some year ago, I set out to discover the hidden pieces of my family tree. I have always had a love for history. Learning the stories of my ancestors and the events they lived through is fascinating. I have boxes full of old photos, prayer cards, obituaries, diaries, wills ... I found out a lot of interesting facts. Some ascendants came from France or moved to The Netherlands, some were criminals and some were knights. Most of them were working class people but I also found some mayors. Last month I've been busy making a concertina book, focusing on my maternal ancestry. I ended up with nine generations of my mother’s side of the family. I hope to find more information in the following weeks and months! ![]() |
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November 2022
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