My first is a great collector. My second is a painting with magic waves. My third is a generous photographer. My whole comes below.
“Gone surfing” © Antoine Renault 2015 Acrylic on canvas 61×41′
It all starts when it’s over. When you resist the temptation of adding any additional stoke. Drop the brush. Draw the signature. No way back. This decision is one of the 4 key ingredients that really make a canvas: subject, frame, format, … end the moment you stop. Between the last 2 steps is a quite unsure path, random, intuitive.
The day I finished “Felicita”, I thought that I would always be able to find this path from now on. This is an image I felt like painting for a while. I chose to keep this piece in my personal collection. A tiny personal milestone.
When Melissa wrote from Calgary, it was for « Felicita »… A series of mails later, I got to know a nice person. She can be as fast having a crush for art… as she is patient with the commission progress. She wants a painting for her sweet home at the foot of Canadian mountains. Something that can remind her of those South American surf spots during the cold snowy evenings in winter. « Felicita » is the perfect choice… except that it is not allowed to escape. Some more weeks sharing pictures, looking for the perfect subject. One finally does the deal. A powerful one. Melissa wants it large.
When I wrote to Sarah, it was for Melissa. Sarah Lee has been amongst my favorite photographers for a while. A gifted Hawaiian artist. She sometimes shares projects with another one of my favorites : Mark Tipple. She captures water exactly like I love to paint it. I already did 2 projects based on her work. I ask for a license to paint. Just before diving into the jungle of Bali, she said OK.
I took my bike. Went buy a frame. Large one. And a roll of cotton canvas. Long one. Few weeks later, a tube was flying to Alberta.
© Sarah Lee – Sunset me free