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Process   |   Palette   |   Materials

My work begins with a simple question:

What exactly was it that made me stop and feel?
A landscape may appear familiar, but the experience of seeing it never is.

A clear blue veil of mist above the lake.
The glow of willow trees in sunlight.
A deep color in distant mountains.
Moon dressed into the silky clouds.

These moments create an unexpected sense of wonder.

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I paint in order to search this wander on the paper.

The painting does not begin with a subject, but with an impression.

Working primarily en plein air around Lac Léman and the canton of Vaud, I return repeatedly to the same locations throughout the seasons.

Over time, this practice has become a visual diary of the region.

Changing lake, mountains, vineyards, air.

The challenge is to identify what is main reason of my feelings and allow it to guide the entire image. Just like in music.

Composition, Colors, Values, —
all work for the sujet.

Everything must contribute to it. Nothing to add, nothing to remove. Color choice is one of the tools.

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I work with a limited palette, using only a 3-4 pigments. It helps to make the best possible math out of the combinations offered by these 3 heroes plus titanium white.

Through repeated practice and experimentation, I explore how visual experience by physical eyes can be translated into a two-dimensional surface in order to build the emotions and recreate an impression.

The central point remains: “how” to paint is more important than “what”. Perception liberates the painter from ready-made visual formulas.

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For a painting to feel complete, it needs both a sujet and a solution.

The place (« what ») is where the initial impulse is born. The solution (« how ») emerges through the painting process itself. Calculations and choices made on the way plus courage to experiment.

Then each etude is no longer simply about a place.

What appears is something more abstract:
an experience of light, atmosphere, rhythm, and perception that extends beyond the objects themselves.