Alvaro Castagnet was born in Montevideo, in the beautiful South American country of Uruguay. His early interest in art was cultivated mainly by his father, who sent him to the National School of Art in Montevideo at a very young age where he was taught by Professor Esteban Garino.
He carried on his formal education in art at the Fine Arts University, where Miguel Angel Pareja was his oil painting tutor. “Painting is an illusion, art is inside,” says Alvaro.
Alvaro migrated to Australia in 1983 and lived there enjoying the cosmopolitan and forward-looking attitude of that country for 20 years. The artist is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and English and currently lives in Montevideo, Uruguay.
He has been holding solo exhibitions since 1985 and has been recognized with dozens of awards over the last 30 years.
He is the author of the out-of-print, “Watercolor Painting with Passion”, “Painting with Passion – Beyond Technique” & “Watercolour Masterclass” books. Alvaro is featured in innumerable art books, videos, DVDs, and acclaimed international art publications. “Watercolours are my world, and I love traveling the world painting watercolors,” says Alvaro.
His main studio is located in Montevideo, Uruguay. He lives with his wife, Ana Maria. Their 2 sons live in Melbourne, Australia. Gaston is a Graphic Designer, and lettering and sign painter artist and Calvin studies business at university. They all love soccer and traveling the world.
