Carel Blain (Haitian, b. 1961)

Self-taught Haitian portrait painter Carel Blain was born on September 23, 1961, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, raised within the art community of Petion-Ville. He obtained his classical education at the College Roger Anglade and then went to Miami, where he studied at the Lindsey Hopkins Technical College. He began painting portraits and children of the villages in the 1990s. As a young child, Carel admired renowned artists Paul Cezanne and Van Gogh and local artists such as Jean Claude Legagneur Francoise Jean, Lesly Exume, and late Carlo Dayan. His work won immediate recognition, which led him to be appreciated. He is a very talented artist whose love for painting helped him mature as a painter over the last few years. Carel is also a respected art teacher for young artists in his community. He has held many exhibitions in New York, Florida, and Haiti.