Dries Peeten, born in 1994 and raised in Pelt (Belgium), has been passionate about drawing and painting from an early age. He started taking lessons in 2000 at the Art Academy North-Limburg and as an autodidact he immersed himself in the art of drawing and painting by means of books and tutorials. Dries's graphic work is characterised by figurative subjects and a fine, ludic style. With a bright use of colour and an eye for details, he creates scenes that draw the viewer in. His works arouse the desire to look again and again, thereby discovering new elements.

From an early age, Dries has won a number of prizes with his work:

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• 2007 - First prize national Lions Peace Poster Competition

• 2009 - Laureate in the competition Geef Kleur

• 2011 - First prizes jury and public in the Cartoon Contest Classical Languages

• 2012 - First prize in the preliminary round and national Kunstbende

• 2012 - International public prize Royal Talen[t]s

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In 2012, as an 18-year-old, Dries had the opportunity to show his work to the public at the exhibition 'Pelt in zènne nakse - Overpelt in zijn blootje' in CC Palethe. Inspired by proverbs in the local dialect, he drew and painted cartoons with social and political subjects as a common thread. With more than 2500 visitors, the exhibition was a great success.

Since then, Dries has worked on various projects. In 2014, he was given carte-blanche for the drawings on the windows of the renovated Rehabilitation and MS Centre in Overpelt, 'Resilience in Reflection'. In addition, in 2015 he painted a life-sized artwork in the entrance hall of Sports Centre De Bemvoort, depicting the dynamics of the athlete. Nowadays Dries works more frequently on commission. He draws both portraits and personalised cartoons on demand and he creates paintings and illustrations for various occasions. In his free work, Dries searches for ways to merge drawing techniques on paper with digital colouring techniques.