The Ultimate Reality Show

Vernon-The Cardinal Art Gallery will host an appearance by wildlife artist Carl Brenders on Sunday, Sept. 26 from 2-5 p.m. More than 40 works of art by Brenders will be on display and for sale. Admission is free. "Carl's highly detailed style, sometimes referred to as hyperrealisrn, reflects his passion for nature and sets his work apart," said Tony Santarpia, owner of the Cardinal Art Gallery. "Some people seek perfection, but never find it. In nature Carl has found perfection, and not only is his ‘joie de vivre' genuine, it is also contagious." According to a press release announcing the exhibit, many people mistake Brenders' paintings for photographs. As Time Magazine noted in a December 1994 review, the appeal of Brenders' art is the recognition that his work is not photography, but "the work is of a clear, polished eye and a rock-steady hand." Unlike reality shows, nature doesn't achieve its spectacular results in less than an hour, and neither does Brenders. Even though he feels that there are not enough hours in a lifetime to do all of the paintings he would like, he deems details as small and as common as lichens worthy of his lime and attention. He reasons that if it takes a lichen 200 years to grow as large as a coin, he can devote the extra hours necessary to render its every subtlety precisely and perfectly. A simple rock is never static for Brenders. Left behind by a glacier, millions of years ago, with each passing second, it is transformed by changing lights and shifting shadows that represent other stories in the cycle of life. "Nature is already beautiful, already perfect," Brenders said. "That is why I paint the way I do with so much detail and realism - I want to capture that perfection." Honored as the 24th Master Artist at the prestigious 2002 ‘'Birds in Art" Exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Sausau, Wis., Brenders' artwork is regularly exhibited in the museum. A dedicated conservationist, the native Belgian artist has raised many funds for environmental and conservation causes with his art. His art also is the subject of the critically acclaimed book, Wildlife- The Nature Paintings of Carl Brenders, published by Harry N. Abrams in association with Mill Pond Press, Inc. For more information about Brenders' appearance, call the Cardinal Art Gallery at (973) 764-5050.