Where the Wind Blows
The Expressionistic Paintings of Luc Leestemaker
Story by
Sinclair Culner
Try to imagine the
quintessential artist, and you might conjure up an image that
fits Luc Leestemaker exactly. This Netherlands-born artist has
the sandy hair, the rugged good looks, and the introspection
that one might assume of any famous artist, but it is the
caliber of Leestemaker’s work, not his interesting persona, that
sets him apart from other artists. Leestemaker’s colorful
atmospheric landscapes carry his audience through the realm of
clouds, sunsets, earth, wind and sky. The artist himself calls
each work “an expression of [the]emotional intuition of abstract
compositions,” but to the viewer, Leestemaker’s breathtaking
landscapes are other worldly. The delicate balance of colors and
textures in each piece takes the audience on a journey not only
through the cosmos, but beyond them, as well.
Leestemaker views the creation
of these whimsical expressionistic pieces as a work that never
truly ends. “The process never stops,” he says, “but it’s always
finished. On the other hand, the process is ongoing.” His final
products reflect the tenacity he demonstrates during the
artistic process, never settling for mere complacency.
Leestemaker believes it is necessary “to serve the process and
surrender to that place,” in order for an artist to be rewarded
for his courage.
In many ways, Leestemaker continues to be rewarded for his
courage. His paintings are exhibited nationally and
internationally, and they can be found at the Bellagio Hotel in
Las Vegas, Harvard University, and the Mitsubishi Corporation
Headquarters in Tokyo, in addition to a number of other venues
and galleries. Leestemaker’s paintings are also the subject of a
chamber music piece by award-winning Canadian composer, Vincent
Ho. With an upcoming show, “New Work,” which will debut in
January at the Soren Christensen Gallery at 400 Julia Street,
Leestemaker shows no signs of slowing down. His work is coveted
by private collectors worldwide, including former presidents
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former First Lady Nancy Reagan,
and actresses Drew Berrymore and Whoopie Goldberg.
While Leestemaker’s work has achieved success with collectors
and galleries across the world, he also earns praise from art
critics such as Peter Frank. Frank believes Leestemaker to be
“something of a wanderer who wonders what is out there,” and
Frank is right, Leestemaker is out there. What makes
Leestemaker’s paintings unique is that he invites his viewers to
go along with him. Leestemaker sees himself as a psychological
painter and gives a nod to his painting heritage (both his
father and grandfather were painters) while moving swiftly along
the continuum of life. Leestemaker believes, “You have to go
fast through a style to find your own language, and you often
end up in a different place, it’s a visual journey.”
The visual journey of Luc Leestemaker is not a solo one. Those
around him often find themselves in tandem with his
improvisational, almost musical approach to work. Leslie-Claire
Spillman, Director of the Soren Christensen Gallery, describes
her experiences in working with Leestemaker candidly, “Luc is
one of my favorite artists that we represent; he is a dream to
work with.” Spillman is impressed not only by Leestemaker’s
collaborative spirit but also by his integrity, stating, “There
is no doubt in my mind that Luc comes about his artistry as
honestly as is possible; he is undeniably the real deal. He is
intensely talented, passionate, professional, totally accessible
and completely absent of ego.” |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Photos courtesy of Soren Christensen Gallery |
|
|
With most creative types, the
struggle for inner peace and outer perfection often clash, but
Leestemaker has found the recipe for living in harmony with his
creative urges. “My best work comes when I get to a place of no
expectation or judgment, ”he says. In recent years, Leestemaker
has hit his emotional and artistic stride. He believes,
“Mistakes are not simply learning experiences; they are also
aesthetic experiences,” which demonstrates his maturity and easy
going approach to the hardships that life may throw at him. A
risk-taker in his breathtaking work, Leestemaker urges his
audiences, “Don’t just expect the unexpected. Hope for it!”
Leestemaker’s career as a world-renowned artist could easily be
characterized by the unexpectedness he reveres. In his younger
years, Leestemaker started his own career as a
poet before trying his hand at art at the age of sixteen. He
meandered between various occupations, including gardener, actor,
and taxi driver, before starting his own successful consulting
firm. In 1990, Leestemaker moved to Los Angeles and took up
painting full time, a life-altering decision that has changed the
art world.
His newest series of paintings, "Haikus," demonstrate
Leestemaker's roots as a poet. These ethereal landscapes are
destined to situate you in the clouds, and perhaps that is
exactly what the artist wanted all along. Leestemaker chooses to
use the form and shape of landscapes to pull his viewers in. He
says, “It makes [him] dream and is a path into [his] own
imagination.” Leestemaker makes these elaborate paths accessible
to his audience, as they often exist not only in single
paintings but in series of works that allow the viewer to
explore numerous meditations on similar subjects. Each series
offers a different breathtaking look at the world from
Leestemaker's eyes. These include his Inner Landscape and
Transfiguration series, Mapping the Wind series, Kyoto series,
Allegory series, and countless others that have earned
Leestemaker's international acclaim.
Leestemaker's desires to attract his audience’s eye fuel the
creation of his artwork, whether it be on a large canvas or a
smaller one. His unique fresco techniques create a layered,
luminous sense of the world, and his colors seem to change in
relation to the light source. Leestemaker treats his large
canvases with a thin cement layer that is mixed with a raw
pigment powder. He then approaches the canvas with acrylic paints
and finishes each piece with an oil based varnish. The smaller
works are typically created with a palette knife, resulting in
rich, dense layers that contribute to the landscapes’ depth.
The results of Leestemaker’s techniques have critics and
collectors alike just smitten with his the sensibility of his
work. Director of the Soren Christensen Gallery, Leslie-Claire
Spillman adds, “In print, his work is colorful and
expressive, but in person, the pieces almost vibrate. Each canvas
is so packed with raw emotion, so energetic, that viewing his
work is a full-body experience.”
In creating these experiences for his audience, Leestemaker
refuses to subscribe to the 19th and 20th century romantic notion
that the artist must be a solitary, suffering individual who
locks himself away in a state of despair. It comes as no surprise
that Leestemaker sees the artist as a sort of shaman figure or as
a Greek priest whose work is translating the message of the
gods into worldly languages.
Many who view
Leestemaker’s artwork at exhibits and galleries feel as though
Leestemaker allows them to see into a landscape that is
beautiful, yet ethereally optimistic. Perhaps this very quality
is why his paintings continue to be exhibited as part of major
corporate and private collections throughout the world. In 2004,
Leestemaker’s work was sought by the Bakersfield Museum of Art
in California and the West Valley Art Museum in Phoenix,
Arizona, for comprehensive retrospective solo exhibitions.
Boston Galerie d’Orsay hosted a similar exhibition of
Leestemaker’s work in 2005. Leestemaker also collaborated with
famed composer and musician Charlie Haden to create the artwork
for Haden’s 2005 Grammy Award winning CD, “Land of the Sun.” His
collaboration with Hollywood’s film industry has led to a number
of film and television projects, including “Spiderman,”
“Bringing Down the House,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Simone,” “Shopgirl,”
“American Dreamz,” “Spiderman III,” “Fracture,” and “Boston
Legal.” Leestemaker recently released his new book, The
Intentional Artist, published by Skylark Press. This compilation
of stories and visual impressions offers an overview of his
career with 80 color plates that chronicle his twenty years of
painting in the United States.
Luc Leestemaker’s upcoming exhibition, “New Work,” will be
featured at the Soren Christensen Gallery from January 4 to
January 31, 2010. The opening reception will be held on
Saturday, January 8, 2010, from 6-8 pm.
For more information about the artist, please visit:
www.LucLeestemaker.com or
www.sorengallery.com |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
