 |
With a basic oil set, he began to paint a reproduction of what he saw on the book. It took him a month to achieve a 5"x8" highly detailed (you can count the number of cannons of the battleships!) He enjoyed it and painted other naval battles.Without any knowledge of the basics, he built his own technique, and little by little, freed himself from copying. In about twenty years he completed, as a hobby, near 150 oil paintings, showing sailing ships of all kinds. Once finished, they were usually sold or given from time to time to friends and family, directly or through some casual exhibitions. In 1996, Chevailler then settled in Palm Island, St Vincent & Grenadines, W.I. He was commissioned to paint a large scale underwater scene (8'x4'), for a dive fan friend. Obliged to paint it outside, according to the size, he was puzzled by the interest of people passing by, and anyway had fun to paint this new kind of subject. He then painted some smaller underwater scenery which were sold immediately. Since then, this beloved hobby turned to a real job. And medicine, (that he still practices as an emergency sailing doctor), turned into a secondary activity! He barely succeeds to paint enough to achieve the many commissions he has, and keep a minimum stock. | He has a classic technique: oil paint on canvas. He uses both his own diving experience (now assisted by a digital camera with housing) and various documentation about fishes, corals, sponges ... for details. "I am a diver and a painter. If some paint when diving, I'd rather dive, have a shower and paint. On Palm Island, tiny 130 acres island in the middle of the Grenadines, family and me are the only permanent residents, out of a nice resort. No car, no pollution, no stress. For us, quality of life is the most impor- |
||
Born in July 1946, Bordeaux, France. For all his teen age years, Chevailler admired his father's hobby painting work, thinking he would never be able to do the same. He received his Medical Doctor Diploma in 1972, then settled as a G.P. in a countryside area SW of France. Sailing since childhood, he took his boat from France to the Caribbean in 1977. He began painting in 1978, practicing in the tiny islands of Les Saintes, South of Guadeloupe, W.I. Here is the story : His father had painted for him a few years before, a miniature oil to decorate his boat, (two old fighting frigates), and he always asked him to paint another one in order to have a pair. But his father was busy, and it never came. One day, reading a book about naval history, he stopped on a print of Trafalgar battle, and just thought : "Would be ideal for my pair. If Dad is able to paint what he paints, why should not be myself?" |
