Artist Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen grew up in Emigration Canyon, Utah, an ideal
place to walk and explore and indulge in his youthful fascination for the wild
and its varied inhabitants. As a boy, he took up falconry and herpetology and
later studied biology. It wasn?t until he was approaching his thirtieth birthday
that he decided to pursue a career in art. It was then that he felt his skills
had reached a point at which it was conceivable that he could be successful as
an artist. Although Brest van Kempen had studied perspective in a high school
drawing class and had gotten pointers from other artists, he is otherwise self-taught.
Once he decided to devote himself exclusively to painting, he gave up his falcons,
beloved dogs and reptiles and lived in his van for several years in order to paint,
often for up to 100 hours each week.
Brest van Kempen?s meticulously executed paintings explore the rich variety
of nature. Mysterious and exotic reptiles and amphibians rendered in brilliant
jewel tones attest to the artist?s belief that chief among nature?s hallmarks
is its diversity. Brest van Kempen?s subjects, while untraditional, are no less
threatened than those more commonly seen in wildlife art, and they are just
as essential in the grand scheme of nature. Reptiles and amphibians are today?s
ecological equivalent of yesteryear?s canaries in coal mines. Often sensitive
to environmental changes, they can red-flag problems not readily apparent (currently
the case with the disappearance of many species of frogs; a mystery that has
baffled scientists).
The things that make a particular species unique, such as behavioral traits,
movements or appearance, are what first attracts Brest van Kempen to it. Beginning
with small compositional sketches, he goes on to complete a finished drawing.
After referring to his slides to verify markings and anatomical details, he
traces his drawing onto a board and then does an underpainting. Once he begins
the actual painting, it takes him approximately one-and-a-half hours to complete
an area the size of one-square inch, most often using acrylics.
Brest van Kempen is highly regarded by his peers. Among them is Carl Brenders,
who owns a Brest van Kempen original and who remarked, ?Carel Pieter Brest van
Kempen will make history in wildlife art. He is pure, and all of his heart and
soul are in his work.?
Brest van Kempen?s paintings have received widespread acclaim and have been
exhibited throughout the world, earning a number of prestigious awards in the
U.S., among them ?Best of Show? at the 1995 Southeastern Wildlife Art Expo,
the 1995 and 1998 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Shows, and in 1992, he earned the
Arts for the Parks Wildlife Award. In 1994, he was elected to membership in
the Society of Animal Artists, which honored him with their highest honor, ?The
Award of Excellence? in 1994, 1996 and 1997.
Brest van Kempen?s work can also be found in the permanent collections of The
Springville Art Museum in Utah, The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau,
WI, The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, and The Bennington Center
for the Arts in Vermont. He has illustrated a number of books, most recently,
Frank DeCourten?s Dinosaurs of Utah, published in 1998 by The University of
Utah Press, and Brian Kend?s Pythons of Australia, published in 1997 by Canyonlands
Press.
Seen in natural history and art magazines, the art of Carel Pieter Brest van
Kempen is greatly respected by biology professors and reptile breeders. Art
lovers who admire realistically rendered fur, feathers and habitat especially
appreciate the details and depth of skill manifest in Brest van Kempen?s work.
His aim is, as he says, to ?say as much as I can about how an animal lives and
interacts with its environment and other organisms.? His ability to do so with
authenticity is the result of intense field research. Brest van Kempen takes
at least one trip per year out of the country to explore and spend time in the
habitats of his subjects. Often, conditions are far from ideal, but his sense
of adventure outweighs any difficulties.
Delighted art collectors have told him that they never thought they?d care
for a painting of a certain subject, but much to their surprise, his art changes
their attitudes, and that is his hope: that a person seeing his work for the
first time might pause and have a second thought, perhaps considering something
they hadn?t thought before. A Brest van Kempen painting recaptures our fascination
for unusual species that often diminishes over the years, and in so doing, it
allows us to appreciate the distinctive characteristics of these creatures as
well as the vital role they play in nature.
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Artist's Artwork
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