How complicated it is to present myself, that it seems inappropriate to call this page a biography, that I am neither dead nor famous beyond a 30-meter radius around my house and that I do not know What is the point of taking the subject, here is an excerpt from an interview by Betsy Jones, founder of the community Colored Pencil Artists and Lovers on Facebook.

To this extract I added some useful clarifications and reformulations.

 

...

 

What time of day do you work best? / A quel moment de la journée travailles-tu le mieux ?

 

The best time for me is the afternoon, mainly on weekends and, if possible in daylight. I like to have long hours of availability.

Drawing is not a relaxing activity that you practice a few minutes, to relax after a day of work. This requires a great deal of concentration, attention, reflection and energy.

 

  

When did you realize you wanted to be an artist? / Quand as-tu réalisé que tu voulais être un artiste ?

 

I think I have always been. In my most distant memories, in kindergarten, the other children, the teacher had stuck this label. One builds oneself a lot according to the glance of the others, so when you are assigned a profile, one ends up being defined according to this one. These are sometimes the others who choose for you.

 

But to be honest, I am embarrassed by the term "Artist". I believe that art is everywhere, all around us, every moment, in every individual. It is enough for a person to stop, look around or inside, freeze that moment, this point of view, to conceive virtually a unique work of art. It's all about intention. Creation is within everyone's reach.

Art is the expression of what we are, the human, what we see, what we have to say, what we know how to do. So every man and woman is an artist, a singer, a cook, an athlete ... some are just more skilled than others, or have simply decided to work hard to progress, to reach a better level, have chosen to reserve a Their time available to an activity. I exclude any idea of competition here. As one can define oneself sporting without pretending to an Olympic level, one can define oneself artist without hoping to see his works in the Louvre.

 

If there is a multitude of human qualities, be they physical or mental, the peculiarity of the qualities defined as artistic is that they see, or agree, touch ... Artists can bring very Early and concrete evidence of certain abilities.

 

However, each human being has a multitude of talents, specificities that are expressed according to the circumstances, sometimes in the context of professional life, everyday life or leisure. Curiously some qualities dream and fantasize, while others not at all.

 

I do not pretend to be an artist, I claim to be free to express a point of view, a concept, an idea ... and in a way that resembles me.

 

 

Who is your biggest supporter? / Qui est ton plus grand supporter ?

 

I'm my best supporter but also my most ruthless critic. Do not see any pride in it. It is just a necessity, a strong requirement in relation to the work to be accomplished. I need to be proud of the result. So I take my time.

When a work is finished, I share it (recognition is a good engine), I hang it and look at it, I evaluate it. And then time passes, and in hindsight I begin to notice all the imperfections, the insignificance of the talk, and I begin to no longer love it as much as at the beginning. Sometimes I'm surprised that some of my old paintings are appreciated. It's important to progress, I always hope that the last job will be better than the previous one.

All the people who compliment me make me happy, but the greatest satisfaction is when these come from other artists, because they share the difficulties of creation.

There is nevertheless a person whose opinion is essential: my wife, who is also a painter. I have absolute confidence in her.

 

 

Are you self-taught or classically trained? / Es-tu autodidacte ou as-tu suivi une formation ?

 

I'm self-taught. I never took a course, or felt this need. I think I spent all my childhood and adolescence copying the artists I admired. Copying is a good school.

But beware, I did not say that the courses were useless! On the contrary, I think they have an essential function to learn self-confidence and remove some psychological barriers. I believe that the role of an art teacher is to teach students to feel free, to learn to verbalize through the arts.

In addition, courses can help you discover different creative techniques.

 

 

What artists have influenced your work? / Quels artistes ont influencé ton travail ?

 

The comic book had an enormous impact on me. In the absence of classical culture, I learned through a relatively easy art of access. Illustrators such as Moebius, Caza, Druillet or Bilal were instrumental in my learning.

The comic strip is an extraordinary pool of talented artists. We are fortunate in France to have an immense and diversified production.

Today I am interested in all techniques of painting and drawing, all forms of art, figurative or abstract. I believe that everything we see influences us. Even if I practice a very figurative drawing today, I do not reject the abstract and conceptual works of 20th and 21st century artists.

Having influences is normal. But there is an age when it becomes necessary to free oneself from it in order to express what we are, with the most sincerity, as a person.

 

 

What’s the best piece of advice (applicable to art) you've ever received? / Quel est le meilleur conseil que tu aies reçu ?

 

The best advice I have received is to practice an art, a job, an activity that resembles us, which is the expression of our personality. One should not seek to be someone else, to pretend.

 

 

How do you choose your subject? / Comment choisis-tu tes sujets ?

 

To answer this question, here is an excerpt from another article published in "Crayons de couleur, le mag":

 

As far as I am concerned, most of the time, I work by series (except the theme imposed during a collective exhibition). At this moment, my approach revolves around the following principle: making interesting an insignificant object, demonstrating that there is no prohibited subject, not trying to reproduce what is by nature already beautiful. So I exclude the landscapes, the flowers, the animals and other subjects that could lend me a decorative or affective intention. In short, the goal is not to make pretty but to arouse interest, while being coherent with my nature, seek the difficulty, no matter how long it takes.

I think ... A collective exhibition is organized in my town in a few months. The theme: birds! An animal ? I had said no pets at the moment. I turn around in circles, I dig the brain for several days. Well, my bird will be dead, and cooked! I run to the supermarket buy a chicken ...

 

Imagination is the basis of my work. I sometimes need to tell stories. I like to create series because they allow to express an approach, a purpose, using several tables. In an exhibition it is easier to talk about a series of paintings than a single one. The most important thing for me is to have something to say, to tell. I would not like to produce a work meaningless, I would feel like wasting my time.

 

...