Adding Insult to Injury

Adding insult to injury, 2003-2013. Acrylic paint and graphite sketch mounted on two 60 "x 72" wood panels.

This work was exhibited in 2013 during the second edition of XL, the collective created by my friends Dominique Desbiens, Julie Robinson and Philippe Mayer. A very personal work, which testifies to my artistic journey and my insecurities. Several years ago, at a private viewing, I was chatting with someone who told me that the word "artist" was one of Captain Haddock's insults. As a result of this conversation, I did some research to validate these comments and found out that the insult in question was in fact "artist bugger!" ". This research allowed me to find out the word "autodidact" was also one of his insults... That was the common thread I needed. I thought about the clichés surrounding the perception of artists: "It's not a real job! "," How are you going to make a living? ", Etc. Back in 2002, when I decided to quit school in order to pursue my art studies independently, I spent up to 10 hours a day drawing and learning all I could about art. I bought several books, including those by George Bridgman, which taught me the anatomy of the human body. These are the drawings that line the background of this work. These self-taught studies led me to work in cartoons for 10 years, during which time I also began to exhibit. Despite all the exposures and opportunities I have had, I still get impostor syndrome sometimes, due to the fact that I did not go to school. There are some beliefs that are hard to let go... but I'm getting better and better every day.

Photos : Jean-Michael Seminaro