NOSTALGIA

I was drawn to painting very early in life, when I was still a little boy. I found my very first materials in the drawers of a little desk in our modest living room. My numerous sisters put all their left-over make-up in there: crayons, nail varnish left-overs, powder. These were my first drawing tools. For canvas, there was always a carton to be found in the street.

 

Even today, I still don’t know how to use new instruments from artists’ materials stores.

Once I’ve bought new brushes, their perfect finish puts me off. I forget them in a corner of my workshop and go back to them once the newness has worn off. Then I sharpen them, shorten them, grind them or sand them. Only then do they become my real work tools.

Often, nature provides free materials without packaging or plastic covers. Don’t be surprised if you see me one day using bits of tree bark, grass or dust from the lanes!

 

(Translated by Roberta Szourou)