"The Red Cardinal- one day I'll be pope!" Print

Time travelling artist. Chantelle Dinkel is a Swiss Canadian representational painter. A Toronto native, she was inspired early on by her mother’s passion as an artist. She travelled to Florence to learn the wisdom of the Old Masters, and graduated from The Florence Academy of Art in 2008. After completing her studies she stayed in Florence another year to study water gilding and other framing techniques, as well as painting restoration. She then moved to Norway to train with Odd Nerdrum. After that she set about to wander the earth painting portraits of royalty, fascinating people, and faraway landscapes, all while hoping to find a unicorn farm during her travels. In the past Dinkel has also used other media, such as clay and wood. She was trained by world-champion food sculptors and worked in the five-star Suvretta Hotel, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where she created edible works of art out of butter, melon, ice, and more. Although Dinkel was born in 1779, she dresses in the Belle Époque fashion style (1870-1914) and looks as if she herself has stepped forth from the paintings she admires. Most days you will find her dressed in vintage and antique clothing dating back to the Victorian age, which has inspired many of her teachers, friends, and other established artists to use her as a model for their paintings and sculpture. Dinkel has also done Viking reenactment across Europe in the past. She currently lives and works in a small village in Switzerland that serves as a home base for adventures, including landscape painting in places that can only be reached on snowshoes or by helicopter. Her work can be found in public and private collections across Europe and North America. https://www.youtube.com/user/ChantelleDinkel