Horsing Around

Artist Liesl Long Chaintreuil’s paintings creatively capture the fl air and fashion of Th oroughbred racing in Kentucky. HORSING AROUND Written by Bridget Williams

Huntsmen from the Long Run Woodford Hounds joined Liesl and Andre on their wedding day. Photo by Tomas Flint Photography

Liesl in her studio.

For as long as she can remember, Liesl Long Chaintreuil has been a doodler. As a young child, she recalls bike rides through her St. Matthews neighborhood with her mother and sister, after which she'd rush inside to sketch homes and their occupants. Her dalliance with drawing persisted into elementary school. Liesl credits supportive teachers, who, rather than being annoyed by her scribbles on every surface, encouraged her budding talent. As a fourth-grader, presented an original artwork to the owners of Derby winner Silver Charm after winning a Presidential Art Award for the Churchill Downs "Horsin' Around with Art" competition. She won the award again in high school, and her creation was gifted to the owners of Funny Cide. While her career as an artist would go on to fl ourish outside the world of equestrian art, these early experiences with the world's most famous horserace would continue to fuel her creative fi re.

As a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Liesl discovered that her penchant and perspective for drawing figures was conducive to fashion illustration, where the human form is elongated and

"Old Fashioned". Painting photographed by Ron Perrin.

stylized to showcase the clothing. Once again, she cites the influence of encouraging teachers. In this case it was Nancy Riegelman, who literally wrote the book on fashion illustration. Liesl went on to obtain a degree in textile design, which she parlayed into work designing textiles for notable brands in the worlds of fashion and interior design.

Proving the six-degrees of separation theory, a Louisville connection led to her next big career break during her tenure in California. The hunt for a place to store her stuff between moves led to a meeting with Colleen Karis, whose company licenses artwork to big-box retailers, including HomeGoods and Marshalls. Impressed with Liesl's work, she was contracted to create a character for a series of children's art, which included having the globetrotting girl visit Paris. "I haven't been out of the United States, but creating these paintings makes me feel like I have," said Liesl. Citing Audrey Hepburn's "classic look" as her benchmark, Liesl credits her ongoing affiliation with Colleen Karis Designs for keeping her up-to-date on what's au courant in home and fashion design.

In contrast to her quiet nature, Liesl's artwork is defi ned by bold color, whimsy, and palpable vivacity. Roses and swirls are a recurring theme, the latter of which she includes in every artwork for their symbolization of everlasting energy. Moving back to Louisville in 2011 prompted her return to capturing the excitement of horseracing. In 2013 she released a Kentucky Derby painting, the first of what has gone on to become an annual celebration of racing at both Churchill Downs and Keeneland. A departure from prior year's artworks, in which fashionably dressed trackgoers are prominent, Liesl's 2020 painting of Keeneland depicts horses springing forth from the starting gate. "I am always on the lookout for a fresh perspective," she explained.

Working from photographs and memory, Liesl will spend three-to-four months perfecting a piece, often moving between several works-in-progress, which also includes commissioned paintings. These days she balances her artistic endeavors with life as a mother of two young girls and working alongside her husband Andre to restore a farmhouse on a 73-acre plot in Oldham County, not far from where her mother's family farm is

Liesl's vibrant painting of roses and Churchill Down's famous spires brightens up the winter landscape at her family's farm. Photo Andre Chaintreuil.

located. Andre, a University of Kentucky alumni who worked in the fi lm industry, happened to rent the home next door to Liesl's parents when he relocated to Louisville from California. Seizing on the California connection, Liesl said her parents were quick to play the role of cupid.

Agrarian life has long been a source of inspiration for Liesl. Her senior art show at Manual High School included paintings of barns, and she and Andre were married on a farm. Attributes of the couple's historic former dairy farm—interesting outbuildings of various sizes, undulating arable acreage intersected by woodlands, and the meandering of Floyd's Fork demarcating their little slice of heaven from standard subdivisions—makes enthusiasm about their ambitious endeavor understandable. For now, Liesl is content with stolen moments behind the easel, sharing her exciting and unique perspective on the beauty she sees in people, events, and nature.

For more information about Liesl's original paintings, prints and greeting cards, as well as a list of retailers throughout Kentucky that stock her work, visit artbyliesl.com. sl