Luke Hillestad is a figurative painter from Minneapolis.

In 2006 he left a full-time job as a land surveyor, to focus on painting. Since then his work has been represented by Flanders Gallery in Minneapolis and is available at Thomas Masters Gallery in Chicago. He has exhibited in Larvik, Norway and the international Kitsch Biennale in Munich, Germany. In 2008, Luke spent 4 months as an apprentice of internationally acclaimed painter Odd Nerdrum in Norway. Luke works live from the model with Oil on hand prepared linen.

To inquire about painting prices, commission work, or study with Luke, contact: lukehillestad@gmail.com

 

THOUGHTS ON PAINTING

I view painting as a craft, and I look to the masters for guidance. I paint to explore the characteristics of human nature which are enduring and eternal; that which is the most raw and transcendent of time and culture. I create narratives around the themes of war and conflict, new life, death, beauty, kinship, human interaction with the wilderness and spiritual worlds, and the rituals we have created around those experiences.