The Smile of the Ocean Painting

Liesbeth Willaert is a Belgian contemporary artist, known for her very colorful, bold and fluorescent, “sunkissed” paintings in acrylic. Her works reveal, inspire and connect this “Joy of Life” with every audience. Her unique style is due to the specific tension, or – a dance as she calls it – between between organic and geometric shapes. Liesbeth is an internationally selling artist and has exhibited in New York, Paris, London, Monaco, Barcelona, Madrid and Belgium. Born in Leuven (Belgium), 1981. ____ // Ticket to freedom & authenticity // The sea is a constant the artists’ life. Raised in a family of sailors and windsurfers, she can be found a lot both on and in the water, as Liesbeth is very keen on kitesurfing. The importance of the sea is clearly visible in the titles of her artwork. After her university studies in 2004, Liesbeth worked in renowned advertising agencies, but felt pretty fast “suffocating” in a corporate life with a fixed 9-to- system. Looking for balance and a way of life where she could be herself, she became a freelance visual designer and as a digital nomad, she worked from workation in Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia… Having a sense of freedom and authenticity is essential for the artist. Ever since, painting got more and more important in her life. A white canvas is her sense of ultimate freedom. ___ // ‘Joie de Vivre’ on canvas // Her work is “geometric abstract” with a deliberately bright and partly fluorescent color palette and her typical contrasts. Her authentic painting style is due to this ‘game’ of overlapping different layers of organic, intuitive shapes against other layers with geometric elements and surfaces. In this process she repeats over an over. It is, as it were, a dance between these 2 worlds on canvas: the defined geometric and the intuitive, chaotic. The power of the contrast between this two worlds leads to an energetic, dynamic artwork, mingled with a certain level of playfulness, surprising details and – because of the bold and bright color palette – a cheerful appearance. You could say an authentic “joie de vivre” on canvas.