“I have no special message to communicate in my paintings. For me each painting is a journey. I follow unknown paths. I put myself in danger. I try to be a conduit, a vector for something beyond ‘me’. Through a state of ‘letting go’, of ‘non-willing’, the colours appear on the canvas and I have to extract myself, to return to the surface, to breathe and to contemplate the result,” says French artist Lou Luneau (born 1959 in Burgundy). “Every day brings a new point of view. So if the public takes away with them even a part of this adventure, that’s pretty good. But it’s the viewer who brings these paintings to life. Painting – all art in general – is just the reflection of a part of the viewer’s soul. A mysterious exchange.”

Lou Luneau began to draw early. He received an education in music and attended Fine Arts courses in the town of Beaune. He has been an agricultural worker, ambulant alcohol distiller, woodcutter, shepherd, stonemason and played music in various groups. After encountering several accomplished artists, he finally began exhibiting his paintings in 2004. He currently lives in Drôme Provençale, dividing his time between “self-construction, music and painting”.

“I’ve been influenced by many great artists,” he tells. “For his strength of line and modern spirit, Egon Schiele. Jean-Michel Basquiat for the naked energy he applied to all kinds of material, the dreamlike sense of infinite space achieved by Zao Wou-Ki. The enchanting return to infantile form, the colour, strength and enormous scale of Hundertwasser’s work but also the fragility, grace and beauty of Camille Claudel’s sculptures. The despair of Alberto Giacometti, Alberto Burri and Nicolas de Stael. And of course Niki de St Phalle, etc, etc.”

Take a look at Lou’s mysterious paintings, created with adventurous abandon, open to multiple interpretations.

More on www.louluneau.com and www.saatchiart.com/LouLuneau.

All images used with permission.