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During all these years I discovered that the real world is just “one” dimension from its magical reality. In extending its boundaries, I kept a sense of wonder and happiness. Genevieve left the boarding school sooner than I. I guess I drew more. Later, in my teens, I attended many art classes from a satellite school of the Beaux Arts, the ARSSAX. There, I drew countless nude models under the watchful eyes of masters. This work was mainly done in sepia fusain on Canson or Arches paper. Anatomy was truly the basics for drawing human figures and reaching a set expertise was required to step up into another medium. I furthered my education in oil paintings and pastels. At 23, I was contracted by the National French TV, TF1, to do some illustrations for a children’s show called “Mercredi-moi-tout”. Most of the work was done using gouache. I traveled throughout Europe with my sketchpad in hand, popping in on art classes as much as I could (England, Italy). These experiences were invaluable. In 1984, I left Europe behind with just a small satchel and some crayons to work on Epcot grounds in Disney world, Florida, as a portrait artist. In addition to this job, I worked as a street artist in downtown Orlando –near Rosies O’Gradys (a staple at a time, which no longer exists) and did some large murals. This was a very fruitful period, as it taught me the freedom in painting large scale, with a different set of perspectives, something that I am inclined to do still today. | I did some teaching during a fleeting period in Melbourne, with Fritz Van Eden, Jon Houghton and Ellen Pavlakos. It was a brief and marvelous time. One never ceases to learn; I went back and forth doing clay and bronze sculptures which affirmed my form.
But life has its detours. I stopped painting for a while, a long while. Then one day during a visit to my attic, I re-discovered my true self. The scent of my paint brushes long time forgotten, was all it took for the passion to flood back my creative talent. My style has evolved. My medium of choice is acrylic. The fairy tales are never very far and emerge through my expression. My muse lays in capturing the essence of a moment, that second of wonder in children or pets. Their portraiture is indeed my area of delectation, this is where I tell my stories best. In front of my canvas I travel a lot in and out of reality. Calypso –our cat- sleeping at the foot of my easel, and Max –my grounded other half- never too far, to call me back to this planet, like a kite skipping and dancing through the air following an afternoon of play. "In my new journalism series, I combined hard to find newspapers with acrylics. Memory lane is a wonderful path to take brushes in hand to let you rediscover these very fond and almost forgotten memories. Newspapers serve as a witness to the history of our daily lives. It is a journey, our journey, the one we make in the world we live in. |
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Born at the gates of the Palace of Versailles, France, I came into this world at an unexpected time, as an unfinished work, a sketched canvas, due to a car accident my mother had. Educated in a Catholic boarding school in Bougival, near Paris, the nest of so many impressionists of the 19th century, I spent many of my growing years in the shadow of nuns, whose main mandate was to prepare all of us for the “outside” world. In this environment where nurturing was scarce, we all had to recreate our heaven away from home. My partner in crime, my buddy, was Genevieve, and in between our mischief and classes, I had my drawings. It was my secret microcosm. I escaped there as often as I day dreamed, sketching endless stories of mice living in trees, or my hedgehog, with his special friend, a vacuum cleaner, that he dragged throughout his subterranean web. There were many unique characters along the way. I am grateful for the institution to believe in reading books, and this is with a chapter or two read each night, that the vast dormitory became quiet. |
