"I paint all what surrounds me, what I see. My work is intuitive and inspired by all what takes my interest. All becomes form, enters into my drawings and paintings: animals, nature, fashion, films, books, news, also feelings, music, images from childhood up to now, without restrictions. I start my work intuitively with or without an idea. It takes then on a life of its own, goes somewhere else entirely. Often, I develop the ideas from my drawings and transform them into my paintings. My paintings are colourful, figurative, kitsch and large, sometimes with text, mostly 180 x 260 cm, done with acrylic, spray and sometimes glitter. I love large paintings, I like to be surrounded by my imagery, to immerse completely in my world of images. I work normally on 4-6 paintings at the same time and switch between drawings and paintings, which frees me again and again and also leads to new topics.…..… I draw and paint without thinking, pin the drawings on the wall and don't look longer at them. The drawings are not searching for a result. I live and work in a group of old cottages in the south of Spain where I have several studios to paint and to draw. I hate routine and I always listen to music when I work. I turn the music on and then I let it happen." - Gabrielle Graessle
The uninfluenced, pure way of freely expressing oneself creatively has always fascinated Graessle. The idea is to return to the innocence with which a child sees and captures the world. But she was discouraged to use this approach, for fear that it might be considered too quick and seen as unfinished. Supported by her long-standing experience in her current practice, she has found a unique path to lightness and ease in her painting style.
She works on several large format, colored, intuitive and figurative paintings at the same time. Drawings are still an important part of her work as they are spontaneous expressions of her thoughts and stories and are often the starting point for her paintings.