To express emotion, I try not to
copy what I see; instead, I try to enter
into the spirit of the locale. I take sev-
eral pictures so that my brain traces
the road map to the painting. The
photos help me decipher the light.
It’s not easy when looking at water
because it keeps changing. Apart from
the colors, what I observe doesn’t
really help me. I prefer to do the
composition and final drawing in the
studio where I’m distanced from the
subject. I find that when I’m outdoors,
I’m mesmerized by the subject, and I
try to paint it as I see it, but that’s not
really my job. I often distort things,
but I find it harder to do so when
outdoors. When the subject is in front
of me, I find it much more difficult
to imagine it; I first have to discover
it. Drawing waves in the open can
go very well except that we imagine
waves more than anything else. What
really interests me is taking notes.Q: Your subject matter, even out-
doors, tends toward abstraction.
A: I’m trying to do something that’s
not anchored in a geographical loca-
tion; it’s more of an idea expressed
via form.
Even an underwater landscape
[see Small Eden, opposite] might very
well be a forest if we’re not familiar
with the plant life that’s represented.
What moves me is the light that
emanates from the background;
I want to go there, to locate it and
give it a fantastic element by means
of unusual colors. This is by no
means a representation; it’s just
a little story.Q: How do you determine when
a painting is finished?
A: I have a project, I get into it; I have
an idea, I want it to go somewhere.
As the painting progresses, thereTOP LEFT
Stopover Mirage
(pastel on board,
31½x23½)
BOTTOM LEFT
Marine Stardust
(pastel on card,
15¾x15¾)
OPPOSITE
Small Eden (pastel
on board, 23½x23½)56 Pastel Journal AUGUST 2019