Christophe Cusson Oil paintings / Peintures à l'huile

I am often asked what I want to express through my painting and how I would define my practice of this art. For thirty years now, I have chosen oil painting among all forms of fine arts as a mode of expression because of the beauty and variety of available pigments, as well as for the various possibilities that it offers - notably, the ability to play with the different drying times of the various layers of paint. For instance, the fourth or fifth layer enhances the beauty of the previous layers and allows for special effects such as the realistic reproduction of a vaporous cloud, a prism of light reflected on the water, etc.

My painting is first and foremost a permanent quest for aesthetics and beauty for beauty’s own sake.  Painting shifts from being a means to a subject which aims to show the beauty of our surroundings, real or not, figurative or abstract. I cannot consider painting a picture which is not pleasant to look at. My aim is to show beauty through the treated subject. This is how my painting meets my spiritual quest for harmony. Beauty is present in each thing, it’s up to us to capture it; it’s up to me to express it the best I can on my canvas.

I started painting in a figurative style, then I shifted naturally towards abstract, and I was surprised to find in this style the same landmarks and the same criteria and harmonies as in figurative painting. Colour is also a fundamental principle of my art. Isn’t painting above all the art of colour? There is no other art in which colour plays such a central role. This is another reason why I adopted oil pigments.

The subjects come to me naturally, without any intellectual quest, but rather through visions and flashes which I don’t try to understand. Beauty is everywhere. Every subject is worth painting. My painting is not intellectual, how could it be? It appeals to the heart and the eye of the spectator and it must take him on a journey. The call to the senses and the sensuality of painting cannot be excluded. I try to reproduce my visions faithfully on the canvas, however I’m not opposed to special personalized orders including requests regarding for instance colour range, format, subject or harmony with interior design. I consider communication between the artist and the spectator not only essential, but also a source of enrichment for my painting. My pictures are not meant to be looked at rapidly in a museum. They must rather live with the time, change with the light, the time of day and the atmosphere of a room.

When I’m not satisfied with a painting, I don’t hesitate to call myself into question; if the result is not satisfying, it means that I’m not in harmony with the beauty that surrounds me. Is it my hand or my spirit that has failed? It makes no difference; both physical and spiritual concepts are conductors.

To those who honour me by admiring my paintings, I’d like to say: don’t look for answers to your questions, but let yourself be guided by the painting and if the guide is not a good one, leave it. There is no need for intellectual explanation. Why add another vector of communication to the painting when painting is already an independent and autonomous language? This is also one of the purposes of the quest for beauty: to reach the greatest number of people at once.

These few lines should be sufficient to inform those who want to know more about my painting, but do not replace the experience of seeing the pictures in person.