Cristian Olea

Born in Buenos Aires City, Argentina, in 1979, Cristian was interested in drawing a painting from a very young age, inspired by his older brother. Always wishing to dig deeper into art, he started his education at the atelier of the maestro Roberto Paez in 2005. Working intensively with live models, Paez taught him to “see” as an artist and use the line to develop his own gestures. In 2007, Cristian started to learn the discipline of engraving, boosting his new drawing skills and helping him create the art performance as a ritualistic endeavour. He continued his education with several renowned artists.

The maestro, Anibal Cedron, taught Cristian to be mischievous and disrespectful of technique and materials, using his skills as a chemist to develop a more mundane approach and an open-to-change mindset. Cristian also attended a two-year seminar with the maestro German Gargano, to find a colour-focused approach, detaching the colour from its academic standards and digging into its psychology. Cristian started his own art business, mainly on watercolour portraits, selling locally and internationally. He has lived and worked in North Vancouver since 2021, inspired by the multicultural human comedy of life.