Christiane Vleugels, uber talented artist in Belgium, paints giant photo-realist portraits with oil. Her surreal use of light mixed with photo-realist details and proportions create her strong stylistic technique. Christiane’s interest in art began at the very young age of twelve, when her parents enrolled her into the Academy of Fine Arts; she was taught under the talented Herman Cornelis. Afterward, Christaine continued her art education at SISA and the Royal Academy of Antwerp.

Her work eventually began to exhibit in Egypt, Liverpool and the Galerie Des Beaux Art in Germany. As many artists have designers have experienced, the success came with much pressure and stress.

“For years I 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. After all, it is by taking on all those commissions that I learned to perfect my technique. I really do think I owe my various skills to that endless list of reproductions, strange as it may sound,” – Christiane Vleugels

Christiane no longer represses her urge to paint the ideas that spontaneously sprouted in her heart. As she describes on her website, her art is meant to tempt people to dream. To see more of Christiane’s portraits, visit her gallery on deviantart, here.