'Cobalus' stands for an ex-teacher of 'visual arts' in grammar school, who's retired since 2008. The last eight years he had to deal with physical and mental ailments, caused by several cancers, Crohn's disease, Addison's disease, several surgical operations, and last but not least the abrupt ending of his career, rather too early. And, for a period of almost a year, he had a hard time of physical weakness, loneliness, emptiness, near depression.

And after reading a two-page interview in the newspaper with a former local broadcaster, who also had to deal with several heavy setbacks in life, but who finally found an outlet for her emotions in painting, this former teacher, now called 'Cobalus', also decided to join in the world of painting.

On September 1st 2009 he started 'painting', coached by Esther Heilbron and Herman Maes, at the academy of fine arts, which is located in a wonderful and inspiring neighborhood : 'Castle Meylandt'.

A liking for arts, for drawing and painting has always been present in his life. Many times his mother told the real story of the feast of St. Nicolas. He was just a little kid, and he received a big wooden castle, made by his father, together with a pencil and an eraser. And guess which gift pleased him the most? Yes, the pencil and the eraser. The following days he was constantly drawing, without paying any attention to the castle.

Ever since he started painting, it looks like a new chapter in his life has begun. And he doesn't want his old job back, because painting has become a big part of his life, and he enjoys it very much. He knows he has a long way to go, and in the meanwhile he's experimenting with techniques and styles, and he's constantly looking for pictures which can inspire him and can be a stepping-stone to develop his paintings, in magazines, newspapers, and of course on the internet.

And then he discovered and joined 'flickr' in June 2009. It's unbelievable what beautiful pictures he discovers almost daily on this site. He puts these pearls of beauty into galleries, so he can always find them to enjoy the beauty of shapes, colors, compositions, details, veriations, fascinations, ... and so he can share them. And he contacts other flickr-members : artists, painters, photographers, calligraphers, ... and he has met some nice people. The 'www' and 'flickr' are his windows to the world ... He can't find the right superlatives to explain how he enjoys this all ... and quietly he hopes to get many more years of the 'joy of living'

Contact : cobalus@hotmail.com

= Blog with his adventures (?) at the academy (with google translator)

= Calligraphy site

= Course in art history which he has taught until a few years ago

'Beauty can be easily unveiled just by eyes that have wept'