Dutch fine artist and portrait painter Bianca Berends has been recognized by The Portrait Society of America as one of today's leading artists and recently received a Certificate of Excellence for one of her portraits. Her work was part of the prestigious BP Portrait Award in 2004 in London. Her paintings have been exhibited in various well-known museums and galleries in Canada, Great Britain and The Netherlands. Reproductions of her portrait of the Dutch King Willem Alexander (2014) are part of the permanent collection of many governmental organizations in The Netherlands. She is recognized as one of the leading contemporary portrait artists in The Netherlands, various times featured in the Dutch media and in the book ‘Portraits of Portrait Artists’. Since 2011 she works and lives a large part of the year on the Caribbean island of Curacao and had the honor of painting two portraits of the former governor of Curacao, Frits Goedgedrag and a portrait of the former governor of Aruba, Fredis Refunjol.
My work is colorful and characterized by a solid, bold and expressive brushstroke. I am specialized in portraits but I’m first and foremost a painter. I use multiple materials but work mostly with oils and pressed oil (kind of oil pastel) on canvas. I like to combine abstract and figurative elements, look for interesting contemporary compositions and I'm inspired by people and my surroundings. I am fascinated by the play of light and shadow, playing children and scenes from everyday life. Since a few years, I have been working specifically on the series called 'Beach Life'.
I love painting children, they are such pure beings. They don't playact they are original. On the beach or near the water, they can entertain themselves with just water and sand and maybe a bucket and a spade. I often hear from customers that they love my work because of the way I display them, I don't belittle them.
