In the early 1980s, Raveel bought a flat on the seafront of Ostend. The connection with Ostend had been there for some time, not least because of Raveel's fascination with the work of James Ensor. Legendary is the story that Raveel, as a young art student together with classmate Marcel Ysewijn, goes to knock on the door of the Ostend master in 1945, shortly before his death. They are first sent away and make an appointment to return later that day. In Ensor's studio, the two young painters behold the spectacular canvas The Entry of Christ into Brussels in 1889.

During their many stays in their Ostend flat, Raveel makes numerous drawings. Views of the sea and the seafront but, above all, the convivial life with Zulma in her everyday activities: sitting, reading, solving crossword puzzles.