Al Van Mil

 

Alphonsus Van Mil was born in the Netherlands in 1950. His family immigrated to Canada in 1952. Al grew up in an artistic household where his creative pursuits were encouraged. Both of his parents were university-educated in the arts. His father taught Humanities, Languages and Fine Arts. His mother played the mandolin professionally. Al would say his fate to be an artist was obvious from a young age. He remembers his father taking him on sketching trips into the woods in Ontario, where they lived. The telling event was one day when a 10-years-old Al drew a spontaneous sketch of his father in conte crayon. The rendering was so true to life that is father decided from that point on to focus on training Al to paint. Al continued experimenting with different painting styles throughout high school and was admitted to the University of Guelph Fine Arts program for early acceptance.

This artist has a wide range of artistic ability, with a pronounced skill for realism. From the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, Al put his artistic talent to use in the fields of interior design, architectural rendering, photography, advertising, commercial illustration and book cover design. Since the late 1980’s, Al has focused on his first love, fine art, and has been rewarded with recognition for his prodigious talent.

	Backup Stretch
	Hairsticks II
	Seated Figure