Koen Lybaert is an artist from Belgium that has taken a dramatic turn in his creative career. After spending years in the music industry he turned his hand towards art. A talent that Koen has hidden for so long is now spilling out daily in dramatic paintings that are nothing short of spectacular. Prolific in his output Koen is creating work that is atmospheric and filled with the wildness of natural landscapes. Photographs worked over and oil paintings depicting lakes, mountains and seas, Koen’s work is a mixture of texture, love and a massive passion for art, he is a natural. Exhibiting throughout Europe and collected worldwide Koen is gathering quite a following, we are intrigued and excited to see how his artistic career develops.
You only started painting again after 20 years what inspired you to start after such a long absence?
After having a long career in music and because of the collapse of the music industry around 2007 I felt a bit lost on a creative level. My wife suggested I pick up painting again and it took me a couple of months to get started but since september 2008 I have been painting almost every day. What started as a suggestion soon became a new goal and an important source of my daily creative existence. I was pleased to experience a new level of creativity, where before I always had to struggle to create the music I wanted, for my painting it mostly just happened and without much stress. Painting feels very natural for me. I don’t need to think of inspiration too much and I never went to art school. I can easily pick up all the technical knowledge through books and the internet. Also the fact that I hadn’t painted for over 20 years helped me figure out the direction I wanted to go in. I Started off with abstracts and color field painting and moved towards expressive abstracts and landscapes.
Can you tell us more about the techniques you use to create your abstract oil work?
For my abstracts I use different tools, from brushes, knifes, squeegies, and even my bare hands. Starting mostly by getting some self-mixed colors on the canvas and starting to spread it out in an expressive and non fixed order. Letting the paint creates its own unpredictable image. Starting with brushes I try to create the final outcome by self-made squeegies and details by different knifes. The amount of layers can be quite different on each painting. Depending on my mood, it can be a varied from very minimal to extreme heavy and complex. Each painting comes to a moment that it is set aside to dry out before I give it another good look. Mostly I wait until the painting connects with me and once it feels right it becomes finished. Each painting has his own and unique approach and it can take differing lengths of time; from getting finished in a few hours and a few squeegie movements to being reworked over years. I guess the abstracts kind of create themselves but it is up to me to decide when it is finished. In the early days I found it difficult to find the exact point when it was finished, a lot of the times I just took it one step too far and lost the unique moment of it being at the right stage. Also between the sessions it is sometimes important that the previous layers are really dry. For that reason it can result in an unfinished painting sitting on the side for several weeks and even months before it get’s a new fresh layer.
In my studio there are always a few dozen paintings in the process, as the years pass by I’m able to get more patient and let time pass before finishing a painting ensuring it is really finished. And even than I’m not afraid to come back to a finished piece and start painting over it after years. I have very few paintings that I consider as truly finished that give me a personal reflection of the period I was in. As painting is a constant learning process it feels important for me to keep my own key works as reference. Beside the others that are sold, all my paintings can disappear into a new one after a certain time.
Is it important for you to have a distinctive style?
It is important for me to make my work personal. Unique in the fact that it is created from my own view, experience and standards. I can’t deny that there are other artists that have a big influence on my paintings but I only use them as a kind of reference, a standard of quality to strive to. I never want to copy the great masters, so I hope that I in time I will have a personal and distinctive style. Because painting is always a process in evolution, as well physically and mentally, a distinctive style and quality is for sure a goal that should be on each painter’s mind. But then again, sometimes you create work that later on seems in the same style as someone else. So even when we want to have a unique distinctive style there is always others that comes close to your style. I guess you can re-invent painting and you only do your very best to create something well and unique.
You have quite a lot of work inspired by the Lake District, have you visited and what other places are inspirational for creating your art?
Indeed next to my abstracts, landscape painting is one of my biggest interests. In the beginning I started from a photograph I had taken. It was not my intention to paint an exact copy of the photograph but the big lines where for sure set by that. I put the landscape painting on the side for a year and restarted it a few months ago. Now I start from the impression I have in my mind from the place that I visited. My wife and I like to go on holiday in England. Beside our favorite place ‘the Lake District’ we often visit the South Downs too. I love the rural side of England, it is quite different from the nature in Belgium. Besides the thousand photographs I have taken in england, my inspiration comes from the heart and memories. I feel very connected with England, it is hard to explain but it goes deeper than just a lovely place to be. I hope one day to be able to get to live and paint in the Lake district.
Self taught or art school?
Self taught, in my early 20ties I have been involved at the alternative Antwerp art scene. But since then I always have been focused on music. 20 years later I picked up being creative with painting and used the knowledge of my interest of art as a base to start again. I Learned a lot from watching art in museums and galleries. I Learned most by experience and checking things out in books and on the internet.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
That would be one of Gerhard Richters paintings. Probably on from the ‘cage’ series that have been on a permanent exhibition at the Tate in London.
How would you describe your style?
Mainly expressive abstract or minimalistic or contemporary impressionism.
Where are your favourite places to view art?
Any major museum or gallery in the world. I like to cruise through museums when I visit a city. Especially enjoyed the Moma in New York, Modern Tate in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris and Museum Ludwig in Koln.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
There are so many artists that I admire, I love to see the masters work. Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter, Willem De Kooning, JMW Turner, Yves Klein, Jackson Pollock, Pierre Soulages, Karel Appel, Anselm Kiefer, Claude Monet to name a few from who their work gave me a permanent memory.
What or who inspires your art?
My main inspiration is nature. All impressions that get stuck in my mind of seeing wide rural landscapes, dense forests, rivers, sea, skies, foggy days are the foundation of my inspiration. With the years of experiences I leave the impressions fade out and leave them more abstract. I love to create art that in my mind and memory refers to a certain place and moment. But only use it as a first step and let the art progress in a natural and undefined state of mind.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is in my home. Two rooms upstairs for my abstract oil paints, that get completely cleaned twice a year. So it progresses from clean to a mess, twice a year. And downstairs a small room to paint my oil landscapes and gouache/watercolors paintings. I also use my space outside for some bigger abstracts a few times a year.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I don’t have any rituals, I mostly paint when I feel the urge to do so. This happens a few times a day and it depends on how things evolve how long it takes. The non-structure of this way of working gets a general structure over the years.
What are you working on currently?
Mainly on contemporary landscape oil paintings based on memories of my visits to the Lake district and the South downs. In the meantime most of my abstracts get dry and sometimes I get them finished aswell.
Most of my abstracts are taking a long time in the process of layering oil paint, sometimes up to three months, the drying process can take another few months. To get a reflection of myself and my work I like to switch between the different styles so I can come back fresh to each one after a while.
Where can we buy your art?
My work is available to buy at Saatchi Art http://www.saatchiart.com/koenlybaert and http://www.u-cover.com/paintings/
What are your ambitions?
My ambition is to keep growing as a painter. I only started to paint again since 2008 and I have noticed my own progression year by year. I hope I can keep getting better and see this reflect in working together with a serious gallery.
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