Hi Marie, it's nice to know a little more about the woman behind the image. You are an independent illustrator living and working in Paris. Can tell us a little about yourself and your art.
- I'd like first to say that I do my work in the traditional way using paintbrushes to apply gouache or acrylic onto paper or coated cardboard. I was trained at art school and later in the Met Penninghen school for graphic arts. I have made a living from my art for the past fifteen years, getting the majority of my commissions from the press, publishing and business communications.
Are you tempted by the artistic possibilities offered by the computer ?
- Personally, I enjoy the feel of the materials on paper when I draw and paint. At the same time though, I am convinced that digitalizing and distributing my images on the Internet are superior supports for making my work known. I am currently exhibiting about 300 illustrations on my site. This is an extremely practical system for identifying pictures according to a theme and testing them through paste-ups.
Your site is, in fact, a library of your available illustrations. Is this a new avenue for you as an illustrator ?
- About 2 years ago, it occurred to me that assembling and showing a selection of my illustrations on the web was a means for me to oversee their sale and to negotiate my own royalties. These are new responsibilities for me. I see myself today like the small farmer who sells directly to customers! Of course, it has happened that I invite artistic directors to consult my site. It is, afterall, my book and my artistic portfolio.
Are you concerned that by making your work available on the web that it might be copied or misappropriated ? Do I have the right, for example, to download one of your images and print it ?
- For practical purposes, showing images on the Internet requires their compression. Their quality makes it possible to verify their suitability and produce a laser print for a paste-up. The private use of my illustrations is permitted and free of charge. Royalties are only collected when the images serve commercial purposes.
Are you working on any new projects at the moment ?
- What I'd like to do is fulfill a little dream of producing a numbered series of some of my illustrations in order to make them available to private individuals at a reasonable price. I've experimented with printing a few on standard double-size paper with an ink jet printer. The result is excellent !