Gil Lachapelle

Knife painter

"My painting is mine in essence, born from my experience... From life, I wanted it simple, pragmatic and efficient".

Fallen under the spell of art during the first confinement, Gil Lachapelle left the industrial world to explore a sensitive and striking universe. In a desire to devour this new space of expression, he tries many techniques such as pottery, drawing or painting. It is thus, in the sandstone of the attempts that he discovers oil painting, a creamy and living material which will become like a muse for this enthusiast.

During his life, he studied photography and made it his profession. An exciting career that made him discover the beauty and importance of harmony. Over time, he improved his eye and mastered the color wheel and the art of composition. The shapes, the movements, the balance, everything is studied to obtain the perfect shot. This reflex, this quest for detail which translates the moment he wants to share, the artist uses it again in his painting.

He, who had never painted before, plays with the smoothness of the medium and its clarity on an acrylic background to give life to his multiple inspirations. The elegance and finesse of the oil are enhanced by iridescent inks that capture the light to better transcribe the emotional. The gesture is mastered, but the desire to share encourages each deposit with a knife to become more spontaneous. The whole highlights a harmony whose chromatic vibrations pick up our feelings and echo our memories.

Through his portraits, the artist captures life on his canvas. He is attracted by the magic of the gaze charged in depth, he is fascinated by his perception and it becomes a pictorial study. Instinctively, he binds himself to an attitude or to sensations to then compose a timeless work. A creation that we contemplate to explore our sensitive being in turn. The nuances speak to us, the relief activates our senses and sharing touches our hearts!

Born in the land of Burgundy. He has now set up his painting studio a few kilometers from Macon (71) north of Lyon. He has a predilection for the knife, just out of pure pragmatism! The artist hopes to have some qualities, but admits it, certainly not the patience! The knife is the speed of execution. The knife is like an extension of the hand, it paints quickly, it remains and remains an eternal impatient. Gil Lachapelle is clearly not a painter of introspection, he says of him moreover: "my painting is mine in essence, born of my experience ... of life, I wanted it: simple, pragmatic and efficient ".