Roger CASTELEYN « Redpoll on a birch branch »

Roger Casteleyn was born in Antwerp, Belgium.

A self taught artist who started do draw cityscapes and various other objects in his youth. First of all his works were in black and white, just using pencil. In 1985, because of his increasing interest in flora and fauna, he changed his technique from black and white to colour using paint.

"The challenge of making a painting is the start: the white canvas that has to be filled with a composition that is completely yours and can still be modified to your idea of that moment. There are a couple of choices that face the artist when making a new artwork:
- Find an animal to fit in the landscape you'd like to paint;
- Create a suitable surrounding for an animal as subject;
- Portray the animal from up close, as a portrait.
Choosing between these possibilities is sometimes difficult but makes painting a new adventure all over again."


Roger mostly paints with oil and acrylic.
His paintings are in several collections all over the world.



"In the beginning, I mostly painted subjects which I observed in European nature reserves and sanctuaries.
Since I started visiting Africa for the first time in the year 1996, I find my inspiration in African nature reserves.
I create my compositions by forming my own reality from micro-realities. The scenes I present never really happened but nevertheless could have happened.
Although I like working with different and varied materials, I'd rather prefer oil paint, gouache,acrylic and water colour. The kind of material I use depends of the subject I paint ..."