Gerrit Verstraete

Gerrit V.L. Verstraete AOCA, BFA, ACAD (1945- ) is a Canadian artist.
Biography
Verstraete was born in 1945. He has been a professional artist for over 40 years. He began his fine art studies as a child in the Netherlands, his country of birth. At age five, he was introduced to formal art lessons by renowned Dutch artist, Stien Eelsingh, who was also co-founder of the arts group Het Palet at the Hopmanshuis in the medieval city of Zwolle. In 1958, the Verstraete family moved to Canada. After completing highschool in 1964, he enrolled at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto (now OCAD University). Special mentors who influenced his work were: Canadian drawing masters Eric Freifeld, John Newman, Tom La Pierre, Richard Nevitt, Fred Hagen, John Alfsen and David Owen Campbell, and Renaissance drawing master, Michelangelo. He graduated with honours in 1968, and is an Associate of the Ontario College of Art & Design (AOCA). In 1968, he founded and owned a commercial design studio that soon grew into a nationally accredited advertising agency. For 15 years, his work appeared in print, on billboard, radio, television, in corporate design and "business theatre". His work included many creative projects especially in the world of performing arts with some of Canada's leading dance and theatre companies, including the National Ballet of Canada, National Arts Centre, Hamilton Philharmonic, Harbourfront Gallery, as well as independent productions such as HAIR, Inuit Sculpture in Canada, and numerous off-Broadway productions. Married and with a growing family that would soon count six children, he continued to attend evening drawing sessions at the college. In 1993, he moved his family to Gabriola Island, British Columbia. There he built a large family home including a spacious studio. Today he spends full time drawing in his "Masterpeace Fine Art Studio". Gerrit Verstraete is the founder of the non-profit arts organization, the Drawing Society of Canada (1998). In 2001, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) from the British Columbia Open University. He is also a consulting member of the European Academy of Arts & Culture in the Netherlands. In 2003, the Drawing Society of Canada, under Gerrit Verstraete’s leadership, launched a Canadian-first, namely the online, non-profit, educational Gallery of Canadian Drawing Masters, to be followed by the online Gallery of Canadian Figurative Masters. In 2005, he launched the online educational initiative Canadian Academy of Drawing which offers a classical figurative drawing course online, based on the renowned Drawing Course by Charles Bargue, first published in Paris in 1860, for the French Academies. Gerrit Verstraete's work is exhibited in a number of galleries, museums. schools and his work is collected by individuals as well as corporations.

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