Christiane Vleugels
Belgium
Christiane Vleugels was born on March 3, 1963 in Schoten.
Ever since she was a young girl, she felt compelled to grab hold of every impression and translate them into a drawing.
This is why her parents decided to have her enrol into the "Art Academie” in Schoten at the age of twelve. Here she was properly educated in the art of drawing and sculpting by Herman Cornelis, an inspiring artist.
At the age of 17, she traded Schoten for Antwerp and went to study at SISA, where she devoted herself to decor-, publicity-, and nature drawing. After successfully completing those years, she proudly enrolled herself into the Royal Academy of Antwerp, where she would follow two years of life drawing and familiarize herself further with the technique of oil on canvas.
In 1986 she married her first husband and moved to the city of Keulen in Germany, where she would stay for the next six years. During the last two years of her stay, her work was constantly on display at the renowned 'Gallerie des Beaux Art'. From there on, some of her work reached Liverpool and Egypt.
Alas, when she returned to Belgium, many years followed in which she was forced to take on numberless commissions, many of them reproductions.
When I look back at those tiresome years, during which I often felt myself under incredible pressure and even, at times, uninspired, I realize they were a necessary part of my artistic journey. I really do believe I owe my various skills to that endless list of commissions.
However, it wasn't long until I could no longer repress the urge to create my own work. Finally! The time was there to take new directions in life and find myself again in my art. Looking back, life turns out to be a continuos learning process in which I've searched for my way and eventually I got lucky enough to find it. With each original work I create today I realize more and more that the true learning process has only just begun for me!
Christiane Vleugels primarily focuses on the painting of portraits that stand out because of its Photo-realism.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
