| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Kelowna-born and raised, and for many years a resident there, Merv Brandel obtained a diploma in Commercial Art and Advertising in 1973 at the then-Alberta College of Art, Calgary. He worked as a commercial illustrator for eleven years, owning and operating a commercial art business that specialized in illustrations for architects and developers. Concurrently, he worked on developing his talent as a fine arts painter. In 1984, he left his illustration business and began painting full-time.
Working primarily in oils and acrylics, Brandel paints mostly highly-detailed, photo-realistic landscapes. His fondness for history, detail and accuracy motivate him to depict objects “in their truest character”. He concentrates on light and shadow, seeking to capture a wide variety of moods. Painting for him is a “private and solitary experience, filled with emotions....” and he strives for a connection between artist and viewer, recreating in the viewer the feelings he experienced. His method is to travel around the countryside sketching and photographing, returning to his studio to paint. His subject matter includes alpine views, rivers and woodlands. His scenes may occasionally feature a lone figure, or a highly-rendered rustic building. Now living on Vancouver Island, his repertoire has expanded to include beach scenes, and the texture of rocks and driftwood.
Brandel has long been an active member of the arts community. While in Kelowna, he was a Board Member for two years of the Okanagan Artists’ Alternative (Alternator Gallery), an artist-run gallery. Now he is a Board Member of The Old School House Arts Centre, in Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island.
His work has been exhibited in the Kelowna Museum Art Gallery, and Collectors Gallery (Kelowna), and in several galleries across BC (Vancouver, White Rock), as well as in Calgary, Edmonton, and across Canada. His work has been purchased by private and corporate collections across Canada and the US. |