Hidden in the Pines - Immature Great Horned Owls

Renowned wildlife artist Carl Brenders is an internationally recognised painter whose works faithfully and with meticulous detail capture the beauty, majesty and love of nature. Born in Qilrijk, Belgium (1937), Carl Brenders studied at the Fine Arts Academy of Antwerp and at Berchem. His debut into the art world as an illustrator for well established publishing companies included his illustrations of wildlife for the book series La vie secrète des bêtes (Eng. Natures Hidden World). Carl has been honoured with Master Artist status at the Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI, and his paintings are present in prestigious permanent collections such as The Ford Collection in Dearborn, MI and those of the Woodson Art Museum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

Carl's paintings come from extensive on-site study of the fauna, flora and environment which he captures, taking countless photos of the animal within its habitat, documenting all the elements that will set the stage for his final composition. In this way he captures every detail of lighting, plant-life, colour and landscape that surround his subjects. His paintings are often created on illustration board, are typically executed in a mixed-media combination of watercolour and gouache, and are known to be striking in their tactile, highly-detailed realism. In this way they reflect the philosophy of the artist himself, that nature is perfect “This is why I paint the way I do with so much detail and so much realism – I want to capture that perfection”.