The
artistic visions of Carl
Brenders reflect his
respect for nature. His
precise and lively
paintings capture the
extreme realism of the
birds, mammals and
habitats he depicts.
Brenders paints every
detail of his wildlife
images - feathers, hair,
leaves or pine thorns -
until, he says, "they
get into my skin."
Brenders was born
near Antwerp, Belgium,
and has drawn since
childhood. He studied at
the Fine Arts Academy in
Antwerp and later at
Berchem. He has produced
wildlife illustrations
for a series of books
entitled The Secret Life
of Animals. His artwork
is regularly exhibited
in the Leigh Yawkey
Woodson Art Museum's
prestigious Birds in Art
and Wildlife in Art
shows.
The wildlife images
of Brenders' art are
first created from
pencil sketches; from
these sketches his mixed
media paintings of
watercolor and gouache
are completed with a
technique he has
developed during the
last 25 years. His
paintings, which
encompass every
intricacy of nature,
devote equal attention
to the detail of the
wildlife subject and its
habitat as well as to
the mood created by the
light. His art is the
subject of the
critically acclaimed
book, Wildlife: The
Nature Paintings of Carl
Brenders, published by
Harry N. Abrams in
association with Mill
Pond Press.
Brenders' art enjoys
international acclaim.
He is widely collected
in North America,
France, Germany, Japan,
Spain, Holland,
Argentina and in his
native Belgium. Brenders
combines his dreams, his
senses, his imagination
and his strict attention
to anatomical perfection
to make his paintings.
He says, "Nature is
already beautiful,
already perfect. That is
why I paint the way I do
with so much detail and
so much realism - I want
to capture that
perfection."
