Artist statement

Essentialist. This is what someone once called my work. It struck me as a very fitting description of my art. Simply because what happens in every piece that I create, is a reduction of unnecessary elements. I work towards stripping the composition down to only what I feel needs to be present to the viewer.

This is what people remember about the world they live in. They pick out what interests them, whether it be beautiful or interesting or intriguing. I love the solitude of nature, of being at peace with the natural world. Yet I love finding that same tranquility in the cities of the world. Being surrounded by throngs of people, taxis, skyscrapers is equally as fascinating. Beauty can be found almost anywhere. This is what I hope to convey in my works. I have developed a style, over the nearly twenty years of painting, that feels like my own. It wasn’t something I set out to do. I think it just happens to the artist that keeps working steadily. Composition and color are the most important things in my work although for subject matter I keep coming back to painting trees of all kinds.

I am heavily influenced by the work – as well as the work ethic – of Picasso and Van Gogh as well as others from the last century. I also draw a great deal of inspiration from the world of graphic arts. By that I mean the aspect of communicating the message to the viewer in the most immediate way possible. This, to me, leads back to the word Essentialist. A place where my work feels at home.

Thank you for your interest in my art,

Edsel LaBillois