Carl was born in 1937 near Antwerp where he still lives with his wife, Paula. He started drawing at a very early age and trained at the Fine Art Academy there and later in Berchem and began his career as an illustrator of children’s books on natural history. Being a great train fan, he painted them also. For long revered and collected by admirers around the world, in September 2002 he was deservedly honoured by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin, USA, as their Master Wildlife Artist, describing it as ‘the high point of my career’.
The artistic visions of Carl Brenders reflect his respect for nature. His precise and lively paintings capture the extreme realism of the birds, mammals and habitats he depicts. Brenders paints every detail of his wildlife images - feathers, hair, leaves or pine thorns - until, he says, "they get into my skin."
