Basic Information

Name: Anna Elizabeth Bruens, Lies, 1954
Place of birth: Curaçao
Based in: Curaçao
Discipline: Painting; realistic portraiture, figurative work, and plein-air landscape painting

EDUCATION

Teacher-training college (Pedagogical Academy), the Netherlands
Two years of drawing instruction with Ria Houwen, Curaçao
Acrylic-painting instruction with Ria Houwen, Curaçao

BIOGRAPHY

Anna Elizabeth Bruens, known as Lies, was born in Curaçao in 1954. After secondary school, she moved to the Netherlands, where she lived for nine years and completed her studies at a teacher-training college. On returning to Curaçao, she worked as a teacher and took drawing lessons with Ria Houwen for two years. Her demanding career, including serving as the head of a school for children with learning and significant learning difficulties left her little time to pursue painting. At end of her career, she returned to art classes with Ria Houwen and focused particularly on acrylic painting.
What began as a hobby became her passion. Her realistic paintings are especially concerned with the human body, including hands, backs, and faces. Through these details, she seeks to reveal the expression of her models and create a distinct atmosphere. She also paints commissioned portraits.
In 2014, she joined a group that met in the mornings to paint en plein air. She was drawn to this approach because the soft morning light intensifies the colors of nature and architecture. More recently, Curaçaoan landscapes have become an important part of her work.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2013 — From Woman to Woman, Gallery Alma Blou
2017 — Kòrsou riba un djabièrnè mainta, Gallery Alma Blou
Various Open Atelier Routes, opening her studio to the public