Artistic musings
I write about my exhibitions, workshops, the genesis of my paintings, the emotions that flow through me when painting. I also share with you inspiration such as in my blog series the colours of my life or behind the scenes.
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#20 – La transparence des larmes
"La transparence des larmes" (the transparency of tears) - a title which carries so much meaning for me. Tears flowed when I painted this canvas, liberating and beautiful. I paid attention to them and was able to see what was behind them, what they meant for me and...
#19 – Lueurs océanes
A pure joy to paint, Lueurs océanes (ocean lights) came to me quickly in very few layers. The first layer carries a lot of orange, sienna, terracotta and red, a bit like a rock bed at the bottom of the sea. I let my love of the ocean take over and literally immersed...
#18 – Bercée par la lumière
This painting carries a lot of meaning to me. I have chosen it as the icon of my website and as the flyer, the first picture that I give to people to introduce my art work. "Bercée par la lumière" embodies the essence of my paintings to date. When, in November 2015, I...
#17 – Transformation
Transformation. This painting has become my lucky star. From the moment that Martin, mon amour, displayed it on the wall of our living room, my other paintings, starting with #8, then #11 and #12, started to make their way to other people's walls. It's a symbol of the...
#16 – Naissance inversée
Is this painting finished? Is it the right way up? There are days when I can answer yes to both questions and others when I no longer know. (Note: Scroll to the end if you want to see it "the other way round"). This is one of the most spiritually-charged painting that...
#15 – Vulnérable
This is one of my more emotional paintings - probably the first time where I let so much of my inner darkness reveal itself on the canvas. The upper and lower right corners carry grief, loss and fear. The structure of the painting almost feels like scars or wrinkles...
#14 – still WIP…
#14 is still not finished and does not have a name yet... It is also a collaborative painting with my friend Sandra in red, yellows and orange hues. We started it on the same day as #13 I look forward to continue this with her and will share a photo when it is...
#13 – Sandra et Charlotte
This is my first collaborative painting ever - painted with my dear friend Sandra and my 5-year old daughter Charlotte. Sandra and I started this painting one May afternoon as she was visiting me with her children. We "danced" the various shades of blue and turquoise...
#12 – Kerstin
I created this painting in a couple of swift sessions at the end of spring / early summer 2015. This was the first time that I experimented with mixing an acrylic medium so thinly with heavy-body paint. The first layer was an adventure in drippings and can be guessed...
#11 – Outremer – Vagues mélées
What feels like a quiet landscape of waves or clouds in hues of blue and white, mixed with copper and pink shades, is like the dream of a storm having washed over an atoll, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. "Outremer - Vagues mêlées" can be translated as "Overseas -...
#10 – Requiem pour une fleur
Mozart's Requiem in D minor has been the main inspiration for this painting. My love for Mozart's Requiem I absolutely love this piece of music which I first encountered during my studies as a teenager in musical education classes. This Requiem has always been a...
#9 – La vague d’amour
La mer et l'amour. Ocean and Love. Two topics which are intricately linked in my heart. I've always loved the ocean. Born in La Rochelle, on the Atlantic Coast, I feel most alive near the sea, a lake, a mountain stream or a river. Waves, ebb and flow, the gushing...
#8 – Soleil couchant par hasard
This is the first painting where my memory of a sunset reflected in water transformed the painting, giving it its bold hues of red, violet and orange on darker blues. Why "sunset by chance"? Because it's only when stepping back from the painting half way through the...
#7 – Inspiration japonaise
This painting has had one of the slowest births that I can remember. And although its theme was so clear early on, I've added to it, taken away from it, modified it, touched it up and adjusted it over a number of weeks, coming back to it again and again, almost...
#6 – Oser l’amour
I experimented a lot of new techniques with this particular painting and totally changed the look and feel of it in one swift, energetic painting session with a large foam brush on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I remember vividly looking at the first layers, a fairly...
#5 – Everybody’s darling
I chose this title a little bit "tongue in cheek". For a long time, this has been the favourite painting of the visitors to my house, friends and relatives commenting on the bright red flowers, the composition and the sense of light from above. I painted the organic...
#4 – Inspiration printanière
This painting was a major learning experience in letting go of expectations. I started in hues of blue, introduced pink and red in the earlier layers, with splashes of orange, made a bold transition to white which turned into branches coming from the sides into the...
#3 – Le cheval Chagall
Le cheval Chagall's torso and front leg came out of energetic red markings at an early stage, the painting slowly taking shape as a tension between fire and water, the horse a mythic creature, phoenix like, coming out of the fire to plunge into an ocean of mystery. I...
#2 – Winterreise
« Winterreise » or winter travel is a dreamy picture whose title is inspired by the music cycle of Schubert which was often running in the background when I painted it. The goddess-like figure with dark curls is gently blowing snow and frost onto tree tops, giving its...
#1 – Totem – L’aigle universel
This is my first ever acrylic painting. Quite a magical experience. The beak of the eagle literally emerged from the marks I made on the canvas as I followed the process taught by Flora Bowley in her amazing 5-week e-course Bloom True which is about "brave, intuitive...