Techniques

I use various techniques and natural elements-allowing me to fully express my feelings. Having been introduced to oil painting by my father, I find my expression tends towards the classic. Bright colours enable me to brush in my reflections. The "dry pigment" technique, which I have used in many of my works on display, came later while working with other artists. The contact with natural elements intensifies the work and the result is more sculptural. My expression is wilder, more brutal, allowing the spontaneity of movement, randomly coloured. Acrylic painting permits the blending of techniques with the result of enhancing the colours using dry pigments. Water colour is a colourful evasion, recalling forgotten memories.

I discovered the 'dry pigment' technique with my master Philo, who was living near Rome and Nice. The mountains of this region offer a vast variety of pigment quarries and pigments are still utilized by architects and decorators. Pigments are the basis of all the painting pastes. A long time ago they were used to create oil colors. I had my hands full of pigments ... so I spread them on the virgin canvas. This technique is a flash back to primitive paintings with a direct contact with the earth's elements. There is no more intermediary between the colors and myself as I work with the real thing. Natural and raw, nature becomes my brush and hazard.

Emotions are high using these same tools as nature. One sees that the mountains hide so many art seeds. The technique is like a sculptured painting. The substance can be important with reliefs and stone aspects. The natural colors offer a depth in the heat and constant light. The painting is an important step to fix materials and to protect them. A painting with linseed oil will get leather and pottery reliefs.

Philippe