We first met Loan Chabanol through wonderful conversations at the shop. One day while visiting her home as she was in the process of painting the beautiful piece which would become Melody of the Birds. It was love at first sight.
We are thrilled to host this 6 and a half foot painting in the shop. There is a quality to this painting that inspires a lightness of spirit and sense of calm and joy.
Do you feel like there are any underlying themes to the art you create?
I believe the underlying theme is EVOLUTION.
When do you find inspiration to create hits you?
I started creating art because it was a necessity for my soul-- something I needed to do, as I wasn't always able to express what I was going through. Sometimes I have visions or dreams of things I want to create years before the actual conception of the pieces. I could be going through a deeply challenging time and seeking answers, or I could be experiencing something beautiful and feel the need to share it. Ultimately, visual storytelling is very important to me, almost like reading a book, It needs to be an experience, a journey.
I have explored many different mediums because they were tools to best express what I needed to say. In other words, the medium itself doesn't matter, it's about what serves the message best. I do have an obsession with lines: straight lines, curved lines, spirals... I like to create movement, to make things flow, and to evoke the feeling that change can happen at any moment.
You live between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles and frequently spend time in France. Do you think your location or environment affects your work?
I mainly paint in Santa Barbara, but I am constantly creating wherever I am. I start with small formats and then bring the work to a surface. The location doesn't affect my work -- maybe because, as a child, I was constantly being taken from place to place. We never had a home where I could create, so the road became my studio.
You're so creative and work in a variety of mediums from painting to acting to embroidery and more. Do you have a favorite?
I love painting the most because it is the one place where I have no fears. There is a sense of certainty and letting go at the same time --almost no attachment. None, actually. It's a space of complete freedom, where everything can happen and everything can disappear. And I am okay with that, maybe because, deep inside, I know I am just a vessel for something else, in other words, these creations do not belong to me.
How has your style evolved over the years?
Over the years, my style has changed drastically from a darker place to something that has become brighter, more joyful.
I am always open to reaching new levels I never expected. I am comfortable trying any medium and feel at ease when I start something new, maybe because when you start something new, you have nothing to lose.
Melody of the Birds, standing at 6 1/2' x 5', is the largest painting she has created to date. It explores the evolution of shapes and forms, focusing on the gentle, fluid nature of transformation. The soft toned colors and abstract element represent a moment of growth through nature, capturing the quiet beauty and harmony of transformation as it unfolds.
Meet The Artist | Loan Chabanol
