Today we’d like to introduce you to Ysabel LeMay.
Ysabel, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
My journey as an artist started at the tender age of five when I was just old enough to wander freely on my father’s magical land, hidden inside a national park in Quebec, Canada. To this day, being alone in nature is my favorite thing to do. I remember vividly the sensations I experienced while walking through the deep forest, awakening all my senses. The smell of the wet forest floor, the light dancing through the trees, the sound of the river and the night sky filled with stars… such beauty and wonder brought joy to my heart and opened the gate to my creativity. It was, however, the concrete jungle of the advertising world where I honed my visual expression. After 15 years in the industry, I sought a more rewarding path for my creativity. I refocused my energy initially on painting and then moved into photography while continuing to apply painterly techniques to my work.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My hypercollages are a recent development in a creative career that has evolved over decades. It is in fact a fusion of two previous periods in my life — my years as an advertising designer, during which I developed skills in digital imagery, and then my years exploring the art of painting, during which I mastered my aesthetic sensibilities and came to apply a deeper more spiritual approach to visual creativity. My technique may be high-tech, but a key element of my hypercollages requires me to travel the globe on photographic expeditions, accumulating vast reserves of natural images. These I studiously review, extracting elements according to my intuition, and then assembling them into baroque tableaux intended to venerate the undeniable majesty and generosity of nature.
Some artists hope for a specific reaction from their audience; while I respect that conviction, I consider myself to be more of a conduit, a gateway through which my viewers can pass in order to immerse themselves in nature’s mysteries and marvels. I leave it to my audience to decide how they want to engage with my creations. For some, they may be pleasant and charming and simply a decoration for their lives. Others may experience something deeper, perhaps an insight into the spiritual realm. Ideally, I would hope my work offers the viewer a moment of meditative contemplation by which they can more fully comprehend their world and themselves.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
Success is different for everyone. I define my own success by how I have managed to create a body of work that has transcended time and place. For the last ten years, my hypercollage series has reach audiences around the globe and continues to expand to new frontiers. The achievement of which I’m most proud is trusting myself enough to make two vital decisions. The first is being able to break free of the constraints and expectations of commercialized creativity, to find a more worthwhile purpose for my art. The second is being able to maintain and grow my independence. Following my own path has led me to international recognition.
Having faith in myself is what makes me proudest. To sustain that, my computer desktop displays a reminder list that I would like to share:
1. Never compare yourself to other artists.
2. Base your success on how your art has enriched your life and your feelings when creating it.
3. Constantly push yourself to expand and learn.
4. Remember it is the job of the artist to create new culture, not regurgitate what already exists.
5. When a client or gallery owner or patron offers their advice, smile and nod. Then continue to follow your own instincts and create art that is true to yourself.
6. Remember what Dali said: “have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
The easiest way to become familiar with my work is to search online for my name. I am represented across the nation, in Canada, and in Europe. And the best way to support my work is to talk about it with others! My work can be seen in person in Dallas this September 19th to 22th, at the ‘Other Art Fair’. I will also have my first Texas solo exhibition at Davis Gallery in Austin (http://www.davisgalleryaustin.com/) from September 5th to 12th.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8307 Avocet dr. Austin TX, 78745
- Website: www.ysabellemay.com
- Phone: 239-249-1415
- Email: ysabel@ysabellemay.com
- Instagram: Ysabellemay
- Facebook: Ysabel LeMay
Image Credit:
All copyright Ysabel LeMay
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