The sketch… basis of my approach
Sketching, a spontaneous language
I have a very special affection for this moment which mixes stroll, discovery and the challenge of freezing a moment full of emotions.
On this basis of sketches, sprinkled with memories and mixed with imagination, the paintings come to life in my workshop.
The sketch has this very special privilege of appropriating a moment, often very quickly, to try to share an emotion or an extract from a personal journey. It has this ability which is specific to it, through the gaze to be transcribed, to set in motion a mechanism between the gaze and the hand which will have to translate the different perceptions like a singular imprint.
The sketch has many faces, over time it evolves with its own practice and the level of view that we have on the moment to be translated.
preliminary sketch of the work “THE GIRL IN BLUE”
His identity...
It requires two fundamental elements… serenity and “letting go”. A posture which allows us to approach the blank sheet with this essential detachment to grant the hand this revealing freedom which will be able to bring, in connection with the gaze, the expressiveness of the sketch and knowing how to carry the limits of the elements to be translated. The sketch does not drown in detail, it expresses an atmosphere, a posture, strong elements which know how to highlight the characteristics of the scene to be reproduced.
Its duration…
It is difficult to determine a duration for a sketch, but we can say that very often it is the subject which defines this. So making a sketch of a landscape or an alley does not involve the same degree of analysis as a moving subject. An inert subject essentially calls upon and sees only the right proportion of elements whereas a moving subject will call upon work of memory and anticipation on the movement itself: a gait, a posture of the bust or pelvis , etc… while maintaining the right proportions.
For my part, the sketch brings a dimension of impregnation of the subject and in particular within the framework of my approach as a painter because it largely participates in the creation of the visual work that I will create in the workshop. Sometimes this origin of sketches shines through in some of my works such as, “Destination Mont St Michel” , “La grande Traversée 1” or even “La grande traversee 2” . It is not uncommon for the memory of the sketch made to become the driving force behind brush expression, such as works on the theme of contemporary dance: “Allegory” , “Posture” or even “Anchorage” .
An old meeting…
Sketching is for me an old family story... that I owe to my father who had the supreme argument of taking us on picnics to better satisfy his need for drawings and sketches in nature. When he got out of the back seat of the 2CV it was because the stage was set and the drawing pad was not far away. His gestures and dexterity captured my attention as a child. Later, I became a fervent defender of this practice which was also my favorite tool in my profession as an architect. The writing of several works on this subject defines sketching as a universal language that calls on observation, communication, and imagination.
A special bond…
As mentioned above, sketching has this instinctive way of expressing a response through drawing. Between my training as an architect and my training as a painter, the sketch is a fundamental and omnipresent element which joins this need to study human space and then its posture in the different spaces of everyday life as an existential stroll or the search for an ideal posture.
My work focuses on this human posture in a space that is familiar to us from our daily universe. I like to work on the link between posture, framing and format of the canvas but this approach is undoubtedly linked to my training as an architect where human posture resonates with its immediate environment. In some of my works, kinesthetics brings a unique dimension and questions the relationship with the composition and the emotions provoked. My artistic journey, long shared between painting and architecture, undoubtedly forms the two links of my approach and my work. The sketch, the triptych or even the imagination are key elements that integrate my research.
