Bicycle Man in Provence

Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa, based artist, Christel Brugger-Krull is making waves on the art scene. Not only because of her huge and colourful paintings, but also through her determination not to let her progressive loss of eyesight affect her creativity. A qualifed fashion designer, Christel found an outlet for her insatiable creative streak by working alongside Peter Cazalet in creating costumes for the Ballet and Opera Productions in Cape Town, a career she found highly stimulating and rewarding. Over the years she has explored other creative outlets, such as pottery, porcelain painting and water colours. In August 2012 she joined Louis Jansen van Vuuren at La Creuzette in France, working on an advanced pastels course, a once in a lifetime experience for her, bringing her to her passion of thick oils applied by palette knives. Her works are bold and intense, with layers of colour combinations and textures. This is not surprising because Christel admits that colour is the first thing that inspires her, followed by her subject matter. She describes her style as being loosely based on the French Impressionists, but with a strong personal twist.