Inspired by Gervaise #2 is part of a series of four works on paper created in November 2022.
Gervaise is a French artist , author, composer and performer. I attended one of his performances and his strong stage presence inspired me for this series.
As is often the case with my series on paper, I first dye the sheet with tea , which gives an orange color and an aged effect. Once dry, the paper is enhanced with gold acrylic, pastel and brown and white ink . Above are two photos of Gervaise, which I took during one of her concerts. These are also enhanced in order to give volume to the character.
The whole thing gives an effect of movement : the first image, on the left, shows Gervaise from the front, microphone in hand in full performance. The one on the right shows her sideways, almost from behind. The microphone she holds forms the link between the two parts of the composition and allows us to imagine the way in which Gervaise occupies the space of the stage. The choice of a background in yellow tones creates a contrast with the blue of the character, accentuated by the strong luminosity of the background and the chiaroscuro of Gervaise's photos, which recalls the works of Magritte's late career.
Although my visual research develops mainly around abstraction, portraiture is a genre that I like: in fact, it allows me to capture, for a moment, what animates the model.
This is where inspiration is born.