Ron Nantel

I create stylish, original art that is unapologetically decorative and sensual. French by chance, mixed-media artist by choice, I was born in Montreal, Canada where a visit to an art-filled mansion sealed my fate--I discovered Art Nouveau and my desire to paint.
I grew up in the Niagara wine region, sketching anything and everything I saw. In my early teens, I submitted a political cartoon to the local newspaper and received the first payment for my art--I still have that one-dollar check.
I was already working as a courtroom artist before graduating from Sheridan College’s Illustration program. Careers in advertising, animation and entertainment design have given me an extensive visual vocabulary and I plunder those influences to explore an evergreen theme—the human figure.
My preferred mediums are a mixed bag of acrylic & oil paints, silicone, rhinestones, glitter and even make-up, applied to canvas, board, burlap, aluminum and plexiglass. From Ovanes Berberian, I learned to not be afraid of rich color. Milt Kobayashi showed me the power of pulling fleshtones out of pure black. To paraphrase Picasso--I never search, I only find--every day from my studio in Toronto, Canada.
My art has been acquired by collectors in the United...