Alec Severin and me

Easily the highlight of my trip to Brussels and main reason I went was to meet Alec Severin. we have been friends since 2005. It all started because of my website and similar interest in art work. One day I get a nice letter all in French. It has a lovely illustration and although I can read a bit of French, it was more than I could understand. It was a proposition to trade some artwork. Alec was interested in Frank Godwin and he was offering me some of his artwork in return. We worked out a deal where I ended up with two commission pieces from him in exchange for some Godwin pieces and from there a friendship blossomed. Alec doesn't use computers or email so all his correspondences have always been in writing. His penmanship is beautiful and all of his letters are adorned with sketches so a real treat to open.


When I was planning this trip, it was all about artwork, artists and friends. Brussels was once the centre of comic art for Europe (now it is Paris) and I had always wanted to come back. I had been to Brussels 15 years before and I still remember the comic art museum there and being humbled by complete ignorance of 99% of the artist they showed. Foolishly I thought that now as an art collector and a bit better read I might know most of the artists but it turns out I knew about 20% of the artists this time:) In my defence, some of the artwork is very Belgiocentric and many artists are not known out of the region. See my pics from the museum. It is great to see comic art getting this sort of respect and treatment.

Finally meeting Alec was fantastic. He met me at my hotel the first day and we sat with another friend Phillipe and looked at some of the art I had brought with me to show. After a few hours Phillipe had to leave and we headed over the comic art museum. I had not been aware, but Alec had been quite involved with the museum and had even done the signs and labels for the museum years ago when they first opened their doors. I got a personal tour and a first class education into the evolution of the Belgian comic. It was fascinating and the insight that Alec has really added to the experience. We got to the musuem a bit late and only had about 2 hours there before we headed off to catch a Metro to meet up with another artist and collector for dinner. Here I met Claude, a vintage film buff and comic fan as well as a good friend of Alec. We had a great dinner in St. Gilles and then Alec had to head home. A perfect day.

The Second day I got up early and went back to the museum to finish off all the things I had not seen and then I met up with Claude for the day. We had a great day going to a few comic shops, another small museum, Petits Papiers and then for some traditional Belgian food. For dinner we met up with another artist, Gerard Goffaux and his wife who is a famous novelist, Barbara Abel. After dinner Gerard invited us over and we looked at art and enjoyed a very nice evening together. Gerard teaches comic art at a local College/University in addition to still producing comics. He was a wealth of information and introduced me to several old artists I had never heard of before but should have. Another artist, Olivier Cinna, joined us for a few hours as well. I was really impressed with his work. It turned into a really late night and then I went home.

My third day in Brussels began with chocolate shopping and a bit more site seeing. If you have never had fresh, hand made Belgian chocolate I'd say you have never truly have had chocolate. The one thing I remember most about Brussels 15 years ago was chocolate. I tell people that Belgian Chocolate changed my life. It was the first time I had been aware of such a difference in quality between items, especially in food. No longer was a burger good enough, it had to be the best:) Anyway, back to art...

I met up with Carl Wyckaert who picked me up and drove to his beautiful home to enjoy his amazing collection of artwork. He has a wonderful family and we had a nice meal together and looked at art. HIs James Jean piece was astonishing in person. Huge (see the picture of me and Carl with it in the background) and it had such a presence. One day I must find a nice James Jean myself. I headed back to my hotel and got some rest befor the trip to Barcelona the next day.