Sylwia Claessen, The Girl in the Hat, 2020

oil on canvas, 70 cm x 50 cm

Sylwia Claessen began her training in painting by studying under Freddy Sluyser himself. It is to him that she owes the foundations of her artistic technique. She then studied under Jomard Dirka, a specialist in portraiture, impasto, and chiaroscuro. She also drew on the knowledge of Polish painters, such as Andrzej Sajewski, who enabled her to deepen her understanding of the oil painting techniques and glazing methods used by the old masters. As she says, she owes a great deal to Omar Otriz, who gave exceptionally comprehensive lectures on hyperrealism, in which she actively participated (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vg0WLgzp78) Since Sylwia lives in the Netherlands, she exhibited her paintings between 2016 and 2020 mainly in Wijchen, Uden, Nijmegen, and Persingen, but she also had the opportunity to participate in the International Painting Symposium in Thessaloniki, Greece. Now she wants to reach audiences in her home country...