She is only just 18 years old and has just completed the first year of the renowned Florence Academy of Art. Fleur Stebis is back in Assen for a while to show her Italian work to show what she has learned over the past year.
A year ago, the then 17-year-old artist started training in the Italian city of Florence. And that was pretty tough, she admits. And that is quite special, because few painters of her age get that chance. “Artists told me that I had to go to this academy, otherwise I could forget about a professional career in art,” laughs Stebis. “So I thought ‘I can always try’.”
The first year in Florence was hard work, she says. “The teachers were strict and I worked days from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. And they wanted me to come on weekends as well. That was really hard, but I’m very grateful for the experience and learned a lot.”
That progression can now be seen on the top floor of the Vanderveen department store in Assen, where ten drawings hang on the wall. “I think that’s quite special to see”, the modest Stebis looks on.
The adventure in the Italian city was quite difficult. The costs for a year of training at the prestigious academy are 16,000 euros per year. Her sister therefore started a crowdfunding to make Fleur’s dream come true. The province of Drenthe and the municipality of Assen also contributed.
In return she makes two works of art for the Asser city collection. She presented the first, a painting of the music dome in the Governor’s Garden, earlier this year. Assen’s second painting comes after completing the three-year art course. She doesn’t know yet what that will look like.