How did I come to paint?

I don’t think I ever truly chose to become a painter. I think, in some way, painting found me.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been very creative and, above all, a great dreamer. I would often lie on my bed or sit quietly on a chair for a long time, simply enjoying the pleasure of dreaming. My mother would sometimes ask me, “What on earth are you doing for so long?” And I would simply reply, “I’m daydreaming.”

From a very young age, I always believed that if I thought about something for long enough, it would eventually become part of my life. And because many of those things did actually happen, I naturally continued to dream and believe. Life felt almost magical to me.

I also loved my grandparents very much. My grandfather painted a great deal, mainly portraits and landscapes in oils. It was simply his favourite hobby. So, from an early age, I naturally associated painting with something positive, something that brought pleasure.

And yet, I never imagined that I would become a painter myself.

When I was around ten years old, I asked my father for a book about Vincent van Gogh. Why him? I honestly couldn’t tell you. But his paintings immediately attracted me.

Today, at 40, I still have that book in my studio. It is very precious to me, and I don’t think I will ever be able to part with it.

The Van Gogh book I asked my father for when I was ten : still with me, all these years later.

Sometimes, life is remarkably coherent.

Because I only started painting at the age of 20.

One day, while I was walking beside a lake, I saw a woman painting a rose by the water. I stopped and thought, “Wow, what talent! How lucky to have that artistic gift… If only I had that talent too!”

And then, that very same evening, I had a sudden, overwhelming urge to buy my first brushes and canvases.

I didn’t spend weeks thinking about it. I simply felt that I wanted to paint.

I started with figurative painting, particularly paintings of butterflies and flowers. I also remember painting an elephant and a lion. I still have all of those very first paintings, and they naturally have a very special value for me.

Then my grandmother, whom I loved dearly, passed away.

It was during this period that I turned towards abstraction. I realised that I could spontaneously put my emotions onto the canvas. Painting made me feel better. It allowed me to express what I was feeling in a way that words could not.

And I never put my brushes down again.

Painting with emotions

Even today, when I paint, I paint with my emotions. I often feel an enormous amount of love when I am in my studio. Before I begin, I feel excited and incredibly impatient to pick up my brushes. Then, once I start painting, that excitement gradually becomes calm, followed by a great sense of joy.

Painting with emotions, this is what I love most about abstract art.

I deeply love transmitting emotions through my art because I believe that art can make us feel better. A painting is not only something we look at with our eyes. It is something we feel.

I love imagining that someone might look at one of my paintings and feel something: love, joy, a desire to dream, or simply the feeling of escaping from everyday life for a few moments.

I am still very much a dreamer as an adult. But I also do a lot of sport, which helps me stay firmly grounded in the real world!

I am a French painter, and although English is not my first language, I have had the privilege of selling many of my artworks internationally. It is a real pleasure for me to see my paintings travel and become part of the lives of people I may never even meet.

Knowing that a painting created in my studio can find its way into a home on the other side of the world and bring something positive to someone is deeply touching to me.

From a full-time job to becoming a professional artist

But going back to my beginnings also means going back to an important decision.

When I started painting at 20, I continued working as an executive assistant. Then, around the age of 24, my passion for painting became truly consuming. I thought about painting all the time.

So, one morning, I resigned.

I told my boss that I wanted to become a professional artist.

I had already been told several times that I would never succeed, that it was impossible to make a living from painting. But deep down, I had always believed that I would. My passion was so strong that I simply could not imagine it turning out any other way.

It was an absolute certainty within me.

And, to my great surprise, when I handed in my resignation, I didn’t receive the criticism I had expected. I received congratulations.

I left my full-time job and took a small job as a medical secretary so that I could paint every morning.

My paintings began to attract attention. They began to sell.

And about a year later, I resigned again.

This time, to devote myself entirely to painting.

It has now been 14 years since I have lived exclusively and fully from my art.

Sometimes, life gives us little signs

And, rather strangely, even when I went on holiday around the time I had resigned, life gave me another little wink. The mobile home where I was staying was called “Van Gogh”.

With the old Van Gogh book I had asked my father for as a child still sitting in my studio, I took it as a sign.

Perhaps it was simply a coincidence.

But I have always liked believing that life is a little bit magical.

Today, I paint every day, morning and afternoon. I am always searching for something new, always curious to discover what I can create next. I never get bored.

And even though I work alone, I never feel alone.

I still have my dreams, my emotions, my colours, my brushes and that incredible feeling of freedom that painting has given me all these years.

Still dreaming, still creating

Ultimately, I believe the little girl who used to sit quietly and simply “daydream” is still somewhere in my studio.

She has simply grown up.

And she has found her own way of dreaming on canvas.

Today, when I paint, I still think of that little girl. I believe she taught me something essential: sometimes, we simply need to make room for what we feel, what we imagine and what makes us come alive.

That is what I try to share through my paintings.

I am not simply looking to create a beautiful image. I want to create an emotion, a feeling, perhaps even a little space of freedom where everyone can come and dream in their own way.

And perhaps, one day, one of my paintings will find its place in your home.

If it does, I hope it will bring you a little of the joy, love and sense of escape that I feel myself whenever I paint.

Because, ultimately, I don’t just paint what I see. I paint what I feel. And I hope that, somehow, you can feel it too.