My Story
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Biography
Chris Vidal is a contemporary realist artist who lives and works in Sydney, Australia. His interest in arts started from very young. At the age of 13 he attended and studied classical drawing at the School of Arts, Palazzo de LaSalle, Valletta, Malta.
His initial work was inspired by artists from the Renaissance and Baroque eras such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt. Life took Chris in a different direction and he pursued a career as a medical scientist and researcher, graduated with a doctorate degree and working for government, universities and private institutions in Malta and Australia. |
His interest in the art of painting remained alive along the years and although time was limited he was trying to find the opportunity to experiment with various media especially acrylics. His interest and curiosity in oil painting pushed him to go and buy a simple set of oil paints and a book to teach himself how to paint in oils. After years of struggle he decided to take painting seriously and to teach himself how to paint in full colour. From that time onward he never looked back and the regular practice of the art improved his skills dramatically. After a number of years he was ready to take the decision to leave his life long career in science to become a professional artist. His current body of work mostly consists of various representations of the Australian landscape inspired by places where he visits. His style of work is influenced by the American landscape painters of the Hudson River School and by the Australian impressionists of the Heidelberg movement as well as master artists such as Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent and contemporary American and Australian artists. His works were published and featured in books and magazines such as The Australian Artist (Publications).
From his home studio in Sydney he produces a continuous stream of new works and commissioned paintings. His works are now found in private and corporate collections in Australia and Internationally.
Artist's statement
Painting is much more than technique or a picture. Painting is a language, another form of communication used by humans as from the early days. Being engaged in painting gave me an opportunity to see the world from a different perspective and in more detail. Painting gave me the opportunity to look at things around me and appreciate them more, most often simple objects taken fore-granted by most people in every day hectic life. For both the artist and the viewer painting gives you the opportunity to stop, think and reflect. In good art there is always a message that should be communicated between the artist and the viewer. That is the ultimate purpose of art.
As any other person, my understanding of the world is modeled by a number of external factors starting from childhood and will continue to grow and change until the last moments of a person's life. My initial childhood interest in arts and science continued to grow as the years passed by and so influence my current works of art. When painting I feel a connection between my love for art, science, life and the world. Using pigments and other raw materials and through the process of painting I want to give an illusion of what is around us in a convincing representation of reflected light.
Through my paintings I want the viewer to experience the subject I am representing while communicating a message. Primarily I want to re-establish our human connection with mother nature. Unfortunately by living in big cities most humans lost their connection with nature and this is leading to a destruction of the same nature due to excessive consumption, waste and neglect. With my artwork I want to show the beauty of nature and of life itself. I believe that Art should be a representation of beauty coming from within the inner self.
"Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul" - W Somerset Maugham
From his home studio in Sydney he produces a continuous stream of new works and commissioned paintings. His works are now found in private and corporate collections in Australia and Internationally.
Artist's statement
Painting is much more than technique or a picture. Painting is a language, another form of communication used by humans as from the early days. Being engaged in painting gave me an opportunity to see the world from a different perspective and in more detail. Painting gave me the opportunity to look at things around me and appreciate them more, most often simple objects taken fore-granted by most people in every day hectic life. For both the artist and the viewer painting gives you the opportunity to stop, think and reflect. In good art there is always a message that should be communicated between the artist and the viewer. That is the ultimate purpose of art.
As any other person, my understanding of the world is modeled by a number of external factors starting from childhood and will continue to grow and change until the last moments of a person's life. My initial childhood interest in arts and science continued to grow as the years passed by and so influence my current works of art. When painting I feel a connection between my love for art, science, life and the world. Using pigments and other raw materials and through the process of painting I want to give an illusion of what is around us in a convincing representation of reflected light.
Through my paintings I want the viewer to experience the subject I am representing while communicating a message. Primarily I want to re-establish our human connection with mother nature. Unfortunately by living in big cities most humans lost their connection with nature and this is leading to a destruction of the same nature due to excessive consumption, waste and neglect. With my artwork I want to show the beauty of nature and of life itself. I believe that Art should be a representation of beauty coming from within the inner self.
"Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul" - W Somerset Maugham