New French girl around!

Karine Monaco · 04-25-2006, 07:56 AM

Hello everyone,

I have finally been accepted as a member of this forum and I am very thankful about this.
I spent many many hours reading threads here, and I am delighted to see so many good works and such a dedication to making striking portraits.

I have been drawing for years, more or less depending on my occupations, and have begun painting portraits a few years ago. Painting is now my principal activity. I am used to paint rather freely, in not such a traditional way, but since I discovered sog members websites and this forum, I thought it would be interesting to make more traditional works too to enrich my painting experience, and to adapt my work to some commissionners.

Here is one of my last paintings (pastel on Pastel Card, 50 x 65 cm), where I tried to give a more traditional mood to my work. I am a self-taught painter, so some may think there are mistakes in my works as well as weird compositions; this may be explained by the fact that I let inspiration guide me most of the time in the compositions I apply.

Please feel free to comment on my work.

I would like to thank all of you and especially the portrait artists in this forum who do not have much time left to discuss in the threads but who still dedicate some time to teach us a great deal of important lessons. Some people don't always agree with what is said in some threads, but the important thing here is that it seems to me that EVERYBODY here loves arts and is willing to develop their skills. Thanks to all of you.

By the way, I am French, so please forgive me for the mistakes I may make in my English writing

I also hope to discuss with the other European guys here, since there is no such forum in France or Europe that I know of!!

A bient

Alexandra Tyng · 04-25-2006, 08:56 AM

Karine,

Welcome to the Forum! Variety is encouraged! Please feel free to post your "wierd" compositions! This one is intriguing and a little haunting, and it makes me want to see more of your work.

It really is amazing to be able to "meet" artists from all over the world over the internet. I think portraiture outside the U.S. has a slightly different direction and emphasis, and it's healthy to see a variety of viewpoints and styles.

Alex

Paul Foxton · 04-25-2006, 09:18 AM

Hi Karine,

Welcome from another new EU member, we're a little thin on the ground so it's great that you joined up.

That's a beautiful and very strong piece of work you've posted, in my opinion. That you've taught yourself to such a level gives me encouragement for my own work.

I too am very much looking forward to seeing some more of your work.

Paul

Richard Monro · 04-25-2006, 09:30 AM

Welcome Karine,

Your pastel is a beautiful strong portrait. I detect a hint of Harley Brown's influence. Have you read his books? In any case we are delighted to have you on the forum.

Marina Dieul · 04-25-2006, 10:02 AM

Salut Karine!

I'm French too, even if I live now in Quebec. I hope you will enjoy this forum at least as much as I do...

Your work seem strong and interresting, I hope we will see some more.
Bienvenue!

Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco · 04-25-2006, 02:27 PM

Hi Karine,
and welcome!
I see you are from Albi, I can't imagine what a source of inspiration the Lautrec museum must be! I was there a few years ago and remember being stunned by the freshness of his early work and feeling immediately guilty for not living with a pencil in my hand... and that was way before I became an internet addict!
Enjoy the weather ( I came back yesterday from a tour in the Loire with my family, it was just gorgeous), hope to see more of your work here
Ilaria

Claudemir Bonfim · 04-25-2006, 02:29 PM

Welcome Karine.

That's a beautiful portrait and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work here too.

Karine Monaco · 04-25-2006, 03:51 PM

Alex,

Thank you very much for your warm welcome! I consider that your comments on threads are always constructive, so I appreciate you took some of your time to welcome me

I had a look at your website, and I wish I could see the originals of your artwork. I am sure the expression of your figures and portraits are strikingly rendered.

There indeed seems to be differences between the U.S. portraits and those in other countries. I think all kinds of portraits are fascinating to create and to study. This is one reason why I find this forum so valuable. Not only can we learn from each other, but it is a great source of inspiration too!

Karine Monaco · 04-25-2006, 03:59 PM

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the nice comments

I learnt how to draw kind of the same way you're working on your skills right now. Your drawings and paintings are great and I am sure you are going to create very strong artworks soon! I had to stop drawing for about eight years, but when you come back to your first love, it is such a strong feeling that you can overcome almost any obstacle.

I wish you tons of courage to follow your path and hope to see more works of yours too!

Karine Monaco · 04-25-2006, 05:08 PM

Richard, Thank you! What a compliment! Concerning Harley Brown, well, I have never read his books, but as you told me that, I found his website and I guess we may be inspired by the same kind of people. I like to "listen" to what faces "tell" me, and I can see he paints a lot of native Americans, which for me would be a great source of inspiration. Unfortunately, I live a bit too far from America to have them sit for me

Why did you detect an influence? Would it be because of the color I use in the background? Anyway, I would like to thank you for welcoming me on board! I have not seen works of yours yet. I guess I should check the unveilings section or some other section to have a chance to see them. But I did read posts of yours about pricing artworks, and the information you share is very interesting. Thank you about that too!

Marina, bonjour !

It is nice to "meet" another French artist here. I have never lived in America. I wish I could go someday. Actually I have been thinking of living in Canada for one or two years, a few years ago. I wanted to do herbalist studies there, but right now, I am living in a place I am discovering each day here in the Tarn, and it is also very exciting. It is almost like going abroad. People in the same country can have so different cultures from their compatriots!

Your experience must be very interesting. I don't know Canada that much. Is Montreal very different from French cities?

Hi Ilaria, yes the Toulouse-Lautrec museum is inspiring. I felt exactly the same way as you did when I saw his early works, actually. He was so talented! I only knew his posters before going to the museum, and it was a delightful surprise to discover those drawings and paintings. If you would like to come and visit the museum again, please let me know!

Claudemir, I appreciate your comment and your message. I will try to send more works in this section or in the unveilings section - I don't know which section would be more suitable - as soon as I can.