Voici Vanessa, assez absorbée par les clics pour que je la dessine, au crayon de couleur.

That's a 20 minutes sketch of my cat Tom Gribouille done on the ipad, with a software named sketchpad.

I attended the second occurence of Art to Play convention in Nantes, France, as a participant ( once more ) to the "Arting Spirit" painting competition. The subject was given at 9 in the morning: "I am a superhero". The artists, around 20 of them I think, had 12 hours ahead to paint a 50cm x 50cm canvas.

Doing a painting in just one day was a challenge to me. For the first time I gave up the idea of using oil paints, and reluctantly switched to acrylics.
My reflexion about the theme led me to express the dichotomy there was between the genuine normality of "I" and the otherworldliness power contained in the "superhero".
That dichotomy is express through two different rendering styles. The one belonging to the real world of "I" is more realistic, while the imaginary, visionary expression of supernatural is rather cartoonish. The character, by planting a tree in a suburban desert, accomplishes a stubborn act of heroism, powered by the feeling that the whole spirit of Nature is acclaiming behind him.

Though I became a bit dissatisfied by the lack of smoothness and density of acrylic paint ( compared to oils ), I had pleasure painting this, plus I seemed to manage the tight schedule okay. At the end of the next day, the jury gave their vote and oh, how cool was that, I got the first prize! I got a 1200 € paycheck which at the same time disqualified me for all upcoming "Arting Spirit" challenges. Instead I'll be a member of the jury for the next event in Switzerland, in April for Polymanga.

Apart from that very happy ending, it was a pleasure, just as always, to exhibit my works, sell prints, share a stand with my beloved Zélie Oiseau, and meet up with all the artists, my buddies Santiago and the craziest of all Meko, new encounters like Kara who was VIP signing his last comics, Cyril Nouvel my kind stand neighbor, Matthieu Moreau who got the second prize, Sitron right in front who offered me this adorable print, my talented right neighbor Senri and of course David and Sarah from Switzerland. Hope to meet you all soon guys !

As an artist invited to the convention Art to Play 2012 in Nantes, France, I had to participate in the challenge named "Ma Bulle" ( My Bubble) where one had to produce a A4-sized drawing in which a blank space had been left for a potential face or character.

This one was inspired by the tale Princess and the Pea, with a little twist. I got the idea after Vanessa, who is posing here, who has a very fragile back, but who is able to fall asleep on whatever harsh surface she finds in the meantime.

See the full picture :
Princess and the pea

Link to vote on facebook: Link

Back from my first time in Japan Expo Paris, I must admit it's been a frantic adventure, although I can't say that I found time to actually explore the convention hall.
We decide to share a stand with Zélie. Those stands are rather expensive, so it was good to split the price in two, but it was mostly the occasion to built a little universe of our own. I was exhibiting a few original paintings and selling prints of my work, while she was showcasing her handmade jewelry and goodies.
We are not specialized in the japanese culture at all, but we had seen at Polymanga that our works could fit in. Zélie had made a series of cute kawaii dolls that made a nice link between our creative universe and the theme of the convention.
To speak about the logistics, it's been rather crazy. We came all the way from Bordeaux by car, which is a 7 hours drive, carrying an immense, heavy case on the roof that I had build for the occasion. The case was meant to host my precious canvases. The day of the departure, we found out that it had rained a lot that night, and that my ( thankfully empty !) box readied on the roof rack had a one inch-deep water reserve in it... I had to sink it and rush to the nearest DIY store to buy whatever necessary to make it rainproof. We took off with a 6 hour delay. By the way, it rained all drive long on our way to Paris. Ouch..
Those four days at the convention went by at the speed of sound. We had wonderful moments, met a lot of people and several friends there. Sells went rather well, we managed to reimburse the price of the stand and, roughly, our travel expenses. No benefit at all, but load of fun! After several nights with so little sleep, and the rush of packing everything up, we left for Bordeaux on sunday evening. We had barely reach the southern suburbs of Paris that we fell asleep on a highway parking, inside the car in very uncomfortable position, and woke up only next morning.
Exhausted, but happy ! Not sure we would do it again, but we will surely give the Japan Expo Belgium a try next November !