Agnes Montmayeur

Agnes Montmayeur

"I was born in 1968 and I have a degree in the illustration department from the Emile Cohl school of Lyon. After that, I first worked as a writer and illustrator in books for the young people and I published several illustrated albums. Then I turned towards painting.

At first I painted portraits in oils, then I used ink and pastels while asiduously practicing drawing rough sketches from real models. In 2002, I bought a computer and very naturally I took up digital painting; as a matter of fact, even if the support changes the reasoning stricty remains the same.

My way of working is very simple: I take a series of photographs of people who are close to me in a situation which inspires me. These persons do not pose, I catch them unexpectedly in their everyday life. I, then, sketch a drawing on paper from the photos I took. After that I scan the drawing, and with Photoshop I select pieces of photos that I put together and adjust to my drawing. I also use the brush in places but I try my best not to lose most of the real elements and textures from my original photograph, so that the illusion is as disturbing as possible.Once finished, the pictures reflect my own vision of reality and people around me."