The young Moroccan artist Touils has learned the hard way that we are each responsible for our own success. Working from his studio in Lille, there is no place for dark shadows or colours in his works, with his canvases radiating warmth and happiness. Painting the places he wishes to travel to; the most important element of his practice is creating vibrancy and light through his skilled use of paint. “I travel through my works,” explains the artist.

Touils’ challenging younger years have made him tough, resilient, and determined to turn the negative into a positive. A completely self-taught, self-made artist, his childhood was spent between Morocco, his place of birth, and France. From the age of six, he missed school to work and bring money into the household. Forced to leave everything he knew behind to go to France, he moved to Lille, aged 18. This instilled a fighting spirit in Touils, who uses his canvases as a form of escapism.

Heavily inspired by Monet, Van Gogh and Gauguin, who were at the vanguard of French Impressionism, Touils uses acrylic, spray and oil paint to build layers of vivid colour, with his intuitive brushstrokes creating a sense of joy and peace. Unafraid of large canvases, he only paints on a grand scale because, he says, “I have too much energy to liberate.”

A newly emerging artist at the beginning of his career, Touils is now exclusively represented in the UK and Switzerland by Maddox Gallery.