Rene Chavelle was born in Brussles, Belgium in 1953. His first love was music, in particular the cello, which he studied as a child in Paris.
Sketching, however, was his form of relaxation, and by the age of seventeen Chavelle was selling his sketches of Paris street scenes on the sidewalks of the left bank. His work became moderately well known and he participated in several group shows in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Athens. In 1983 Chavelle moved to Mykonos, Greece where he painted the great architecture and landscapes of Greece in oil on canvas. For a number of years he sold work from his own "Studio Chavelle" on the island.
Chavelle's technique varies but most often consists of thinly brushed oils over gessoed canvas. He occasionally works in heavy oils with classic brushwork, but most often the oil is finely and meticulously applied. As he mixes his paint with spirits rather than linseed oil and applies only a light coat of varnish, his canvases have a warm satin glow rather than a glossy finish.