A Northern California Painter "Landscapes, still life or the figure, the process is my passion..."

  Philippe Gandiol, a Northern California painter was born in Paris and moved to California in 1975.  He spent many years working for the music industry and has been painting full time since 2002.  He has  pursued art for most of his life and has been painting with oils for 16 years.  Philippe, a self taught artist, took art classes in France,  San Francisco and Sacramento.  He also studied  with experienced California artists.  He currently lives in Davis, California.  From landscapes painted "en plein air" or still life and figure painted in his studio, he works almost exclusively from life and in one session in order to preserve the freshness of the process.  His time is split between painting alone or with fellow painters, teaching and learning.

Artist's statement:

"...   Art has  been a  constant part of my self-expression as  I mostly relate  to the inside and outside world through images.  I  have always been fascinated by how everything around me is revealed and nurtured  by light which gives us form,  color,  life.  The more I paint, the more beauty emerges around me, the more inspired I become.  Everything becomes a subject to paint.  The feel of the brush on the canvas pushing and pulling the paint, the colors, the sensation of freedom and peace that comes with focus and urge, as well as the struggle and frustration that is inherent to growth, it all contributes to make my life full and rich.  And that is what I want to give: all of me in that one stroke...."