Patrick Gysemberg

Artist Statement

The value of life is measured by its beauty.
Hey! It is absolutely GREAT it see YOU visiting my website! Several years ago I had my first "artist name cards" printed by a professional printer. I choose to put a "statement" on the card : Life is Art. With this statement I wanted to indicate that life itself is already in all his aspects a form of Art. I just wanted to wake up those people who were/still are soooo busy with every day life that they forget about life itself! They forget to look around, to look at the ones they love...they just forget...till life has passed and no beauty has been seen or found. "Life is Art" means that we CAN make life into Art, if we want to. We can, of course make life into living hell...this everyone knows...the opposite however, one tends to forget or not see at all....thus : " Life is Art " is a guideline, a gentle warning, a soft touching of your cheek, a tender kiss on your forehead, a smile on your lips, a little jump in the sky, a teasing joke on the side; it is for all the truth. Because the web did not have this name free anymore I was "forced" to choose: "MY life is art", as it was the closest to my statement and my idea's. This does not mean that my life IS really Art! No, it is not. But I try to live up to my believes and the harder I do this, as I have noticed, the more things are turning to be all right. Still my life is a quest for the ultimate answer that none of us has found up till now or, if so, no one ever did tell me about it.. Enjoy your stay here. Enjoy your life! You should, you know, cause it 'll always appear too short. It sure IS too short!!!! IT IS!!!! ( just think about it, just once...)

My ability to love life and all human beings who are actually at this moment enriching my existance on this planet, is mostly so intensely activated that it is hurting me like a razorblade cutting my intestines. My favourites are....(this you would like to know, would you not???????) YESS You are one of them!

Since I started to work with oils, no more than seven years ago, I have come a long way.
Because I knew I could draw from my early years in childhood, I started to make figurative paintings, but they seem to lack "something". For sure I was not very satisfied with the outcome, with the results.
As my brother asked me to make an abstract painting a few years ago, I started to experiment with all media involved.
And here something wonderful happened : I found out that , every time I started on one of my abstract "oils", I never knew where I nor the painting itself would end. I thus, just let "things" happen. I create, without knowing the outcome. I draw, paint, put together, assemble, use oils and other material, to achieve the endresult. I juse become part of a creative process.
I see/feel a very strong "force" taking over during the act of creation. It guides me through my paintings and leads me to the end result. It is very hard for me to detect when this should be: when I should stop this interactive process between me, my brush, the canvas and the paint. There lies my responsibility as a painter, a creator. I determine the composition because I determine when to stop this creative process. The final composition always is - or should be at least - a token of beauty of something in life that is surrounding us. The outcome has to match my vision of beauty and should at least be a reflection of it. My paintings are vivid, full of life and colour, because this is what or who I am. They are a reflection of my inner self, erupted out of my sub conscience, as a proof of respect for the life we lead, we hold and we treasure. After finishing this creative process, I try the utmost to look for the appropriate title, since I believe there is a huge interaction going on between title and painting, as if the painting is a token, a statement from beyond; an expression from higher forces. >Each painting has a message, but surely there are more messages possible than the one I detected. This makes my oils, my art pieces subject to contemplation and reflection on life in all its aspects.
One of my huge paintings I sold to an American very recently, was sold because of the explicit relation between the painting and the title.
My "oils" are mostly big, because this is a great size to decorate one's home with, you do not need frames.
My "oils" - merely all abstract expressionist pieces - are "my statement",
they are "my will",
they are "me".

Patrick Gysemberg 04 January 2004