NatureIzWatchinYo

At first, when we look at this painting, we see eyes. Many eyes. Blue eyes. It seems like they’re looking at you. On the left, a tree branch does its best to appear on the painting. On the top, green patches could be the leaves of the tree, hanging in a blue sky. Like for most of my paintings, the meaning (when there is one), came after I finished it. I called it NatureIzWatchinYo. The idea is simple : the nature is watching you with its eyes. By « you » I mean « us », the human being. This may sound naive, but once you see the nature as a living creature (it’s a metaphor of course), you can’t prevent from respecting it. It’s like her eyes are observing what you do to her (him ? it ?). Sometimes aproving with shiny smily eyes. Sometimes disaproving with frowning angry eyes. In many animist cultures among the world, the nature is seen as a living creature, as a god sometimes.

Blu

This painting has been inspired by a picture my Italian friend Maria Paola published on facebook a few years ago. On this intriguing picture, she appeared with blue, golden and pink makeup on her face and blue hair. The harmony of the colours was perfect. So I decided to create a painting inspired by this picture. Maria Paola is a stage actress in Firenze (Italy).

Grand Canyon

On the first painting, two human figures are standing in front of what could be the Grand Canyon in th USA. We don’t know much about them. Are they tourists? Are they men or women? Are they grown-up, teenagers or kids? We just don’t know. All we know is that they stand in front of a beautiful landscape made of flashy colours in a fauvism-expressionism style. On an very orange soil (sand ? rock ?) a bush and a lonely tree. Dark mountains seem menacing. The red sun in a yellow sky with pink-purple clouds is burning, giving the impression of strong heat. The cold blue colour of the two human figures clothes is the only thing on the painting that give us some freshness. On the second painting, the impression of heat isn’t so strong. It seems like the cold desert night is coming. The sky is darker, more purple. The river that violently separate the painting in two play the same role as the blue t-shirts on the first painting. Those two paintings have no special meanings. It’s more about feeling and immersion : the impression we have when we are in a very arid place. When we balance between the beauty of the place and this burning heat that manipulates our five senses.

Nomad Soul - Huanchaco

Like most of my drawings and paintings, this one is about travels. About limitless horizons. The pictures I added acryllic paint lines on, is a picture I took when I was in Huanchaco, a small town close to Trujillo (Peru). In the background, we can see dusk falling on the Pacific Ocean. In the foreground, two boats are standing on the sand. They highlight a third one in the Ocean. Those boats, called « caballitos de totora » ( = little totora horses), were already used by Chimu and Moche cultures centuries ago to fish. The lines I painted on this pictures represent the omnipresence of colours in Latin America countries.

When I showed this painting to Fabienne, a friend of mine who is an anthropologist, she very spontanenously wrote those few beautiful lines : « Voyages, lignes et cassures de vie, carrefours et incompréhension. » (Travels, lines and breaks of life, crossroads and misunderstanding). She’s the author of a book based on a study about Swiss Alps moutain hut’s evolution : « Les cabanes de montagnes ».

Pachamama

In South American pre-Colombian cultures – Incas amongst many others – Pachamama (« mother earth » or « world mother ») was one of the major divinity. She was the goddess of animals, plants and minerals. The goddess of fertility. Nowadays, Pachamma is still very important in the Andes. People in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and northern Argentina continue to worship her, making to her offerings of tobacco, food or coca leaves. Sometimes, they also spill of the floor „chicha“, an alcohol made of corn very popular in countries like Peru. Pachamama gives birth to the corn. To spill corn alcohol « on her » is like giving her back a part of what we took her : corn. The corncobs that appears on both of my paintings represent Pachamama. This is a colorful ode to Mother Earth. A call to respect her. Even if some ignorant powerful politicians say global warming isn't caused by human being. 

Volcanic Darkness

This one is certainly one of my most refined painting : a few orange lines represent a sunset that evokes the color of the lava that don't appears on two black volcanoes under those strange skies. The background is pure white. Nothing more. That's a very special painting for me because I normally use to paint/draw (too?) many details in my works. I love the idea of "less is more" like the legendary music producer Rick Rubin does in his music. He's the one who helped a decaying Johnny Cash to come back on the scene, producing for him songs like "Hurt" which are based on this "less is more" philosophy. He's also the one who greatly contributed to make Kanye West's "Yezzus" a masterpiece. Intersting detail : in this album he's described as the "reducer". Maybe one day I'll apply this to my art as I'm trying to do it in my everyday life.

But let's get back to this painting's main topic : volcanoes. I feel like I'm repeating myself in the last articles, but this is one of my other childhood passion that still fascinate me as an adult. Their beauty and their strength captivate me at the highest point. I've had the chance to see some volcanoes in my life. Some sleeping like "el Pico de Orizaba" in Mexico, other just smoking like Vulcano, but also some erupting like Stromboli and Etna in Italy. To see lava beeing rejected by a volcano in the warm Sicilian night is something you can't ever forget. To hear this strong and dull sound the volcano is making - like a giant groaning - is something you'll always remember till your last breath. Volcanoes are huge creatures that command respect. That you don't want to make angry. It's very easy to imagine volcanoes are/were venerated in many cultures like gods. They make people around them humble and strong. Like the one living on Stromboli Island.

Quetzalcoatl – The feathered serpent

Quetzalcoatl was one of the main gods in Aztecs mythology. His cult probably comes from Tehotihuacan where we still can see nowadays the huge temples of the moon and the sun. Certainly one of the most oustanding place I’ve been to. That was like realising a childhood dream : since I was a kid I was fascinated by Aztecs culture.

Quetzalcoatl also played a tragic role for the Aztecs when they believed the Spanish « conquistador » Cortés was in reality this god back among men. Some specialists say it’s just a myth created by the Spaniards. I personally like to think it was true history.

In my eyes, Quetzalcoatl represents Latin America, Mexico and the passion I have for this piece of the world and its cultures. More than anything, it’s a symbol for me, present in many of my paintings.