ARTIST STATEMENT:

The oil paintings by Camille Engel (b. 1955) extol the splendor the artist sees in everyday objects.  Revealing a life captivated by detail, these intricate works focus attention upon the rich colors and textures found in some of the most unheralded subjects while reflecting the artist’s victory over personal hardships.

An acute observer of the beauty that most of us overlook, Engel is amazed and fascinated with color and texture, seeking to capture the richness of life. These oil paintings invite us to momentarily step into her world of observation and share in her joy of the transcendent beauty all around us.

What inspires Engel the most is not a singular cultural message, nor even the master painters she admires, but rather her core beliefs. “For me,” Engel explains, “every morning is a fresh opportunity to find extraordinary joy in the most ordinary things. My art overflows out of that joy.”       

RESUME/BIOGRAPHY:

During a 35-year career, Camille Engel has moved from graphic design to oils, and from corporate logos to prestigious fine art exhibitions.

At the age of 23, Camille opened her own graphic design firm in Tulsa. Years later, she moved to Nashville where she established Engel Creative with her husband Todd, a graphic design firm specializing in logo design, advertising materials and packaging for clients such as Random House, Aladdin, Fruit of the Loom, MCA, RCA, and Warner/Curb.  

In 2000, heeding advice to “Pursue the dream that burns inside you,” Engel began oil painting, intuitively in a realistic style.  She and her husband immediately realized this was where she needed to apply her talent and Todd took full control of the graphic design firm.

An accomplished painter, Engel pursues the aims of the Realist movement with remarkable passion and skill. Accepted among some of the world’s top realists and into prestigious museum tours and art gallery exhibitions from Santa Fe to New York City, winning accolades along the way, Engel’s art career continues on a steady rise.  Her work is published and mentioned in national magazines like American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, The Artist’s Magazine, Southwest Art, American Artist, and Southern Living.

Camille Engel’s paintings are being acquired by prominent corporate and private collections: The Chattanoogan Hotel in Chattanooga; Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and Baptist Hospital in Nashville; as well as the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, GA to name a few.

Accepting both small and large scale commissions, Engel works with the highest quality oil paints on the highest quality archival support.  

RECENT AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:

PEOPLE’S CHOICE: American Art in Miniature 2008, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK, “Out on a Limb.”
(Related story in Western Art Collector Jan. 2009.) http://bit.ly/Engel151

AMERICAN ARTIST MAGAZINE COVER COMPETITION: Winner of the American Artist Magazine 2007 Cover Competition, May 2007 issue. http://bit.ly/Engel035AA

BEST OF SHOW: Artclectic 2007, University school, Nashville, TN. Wendy H. Outland, juror. http://bit.ly/Engel068

MUSEUM TOUR 2008-2011: Engel’s “Sunflower at the old Factory” painting is compared to a Vincent Van Gogh sunflower in museum tour, The New Reality- The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century.  (Related story in Southwest Art Magazine Aug. 2008; International Artist, April/May 2008.) http://bit.ly/Engel035


ARTIST’S CHOICE: “Home Sweet Home II” awarded in 2006 Int’l Realism Exhibition in Santa Fe, NM. Related stories in Jan/Feb ‘07 The Artist’s Magazine; and Sept. ‘06 American Art Collector [reproductions]. http://bit.ly/Engel092

LEADING MASTER OF CONTEMPORARY REALISM 2007 International Realism Exhibition, Cape Cod, MA. http://bit.ly/Engel124

THE BEST OF REALISM: July 2006 International Realism Exhibition, Cape Cod, MA. http://bit.ly/Engel141

SELECT CORPORATE, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

• The Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
• Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, GA
• The Baptist Hospital, Nashville, TN
• Chattanoogan Hotel, Main Lobby, Chattanooga, TN
• Metropolitan Nashville Government, Nashville, TN
• Donia Dickerson, Nashville, TN
• Drs. Alan and Janet Yuspeh, Franklin, TN
• Dr. Julie Sandine, Dean of the Vanderbilt Law School
• Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Waltrip, Franklin, TN
• Mr. and Mrs. Joe Calloway, Nashville, TN
• Martina McBride, Franklin, TN