Fleur Thesmar
In 2020, the exceptional crisis we suffered made me, like many people, feel suffocated. We have ceased to have access to the great outdoors, my first source of inspiration, and to people. Even when I could travel, I was only able to paint a few large paintings and mostly small figurative scenes. Real space and the pictorial representation of space, in which I am interested, both seemed to shrink. It was while walking during spring that I had an epiphany.
Staring at a blooming star magnolia, I saw a crystalline structure. This tree appeared on earth 95 million years ago. How many mystical experiences are lived at the foot of a tree? I was amazed to discover the “tilings” of Sir Penrose (Nobel Prize for Physics in 2020), whose harmonic sequences describe a structure similar to what I observe in nature. The “Amman bars” underlying these tilings are proportional to the golden ratio and form a network of lines, which intersect at precise angles, drawing clouds of stars. They provide exciting grids for painting composition, creating new reliefs. Mathematical abstraction has become my new landscape and also offers a new key to figurative art.
I prefer to use watercolor, but I add other techniques like monotype and digital preliminary drawing, sometimes video. I include in my paintings impressions of mathematical structures, which I complete with iterations of motifs representing the echoes and the harmony of the world, or the succession of images in which we live.
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? At home, when I was very little – with felt pens.
When did art become a pursuit? I have always been painting a bit, but mostly I’ve been observing. It became a extreme need when I arrived in the USA 6 years ago. The information technologies I’ve been working on since 15 years, we’re completely unable to render space (iPhones). I remembered the old masters paintings that were able to describe huge spaces and decided I would become a painter.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? I am self taught and took classes at the MFA web. I arrived in Boston 5 years ago. My prof is still YoAhn Han.
How did you first become involved with CAA? About 3 years ago when I understood that CAA had so many resources do artists!
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? I chose watercolors mostly. The fluidity of the medium makes it more related to chance or fate. It’s also a very versatile medium, linked to travel which was the original cause of my passion for painting. Painting on paper is more ancient than oil painting and has a rich history of story telling, drawing, and science illustration.
How do you choose your subject matter? Is there a reoccurring theme that carries throughout your work? Lines featuring a precise and recurring harmonic pattern. My subjects are related to travel, impermanence, motion, flowers, trees, mountains, oceans, home, life.
WhatWhat role do you think the artist plays in society? Artists play several roles, but the most important, to me, is to show the power of imagination, to develop sensory skills, to communicate sometimes non verbally, and to explore invisible worlds.
What is your creative process? Where are you finding ideas for your art these days? Deprived from travel which was my primary inspiration for landscape painting, I began to reflect on perspective and composition. Perspective is the classic grid where many images are projected where all lines converge on one point. I’ve chosen another grid (related to the works of Pr. Penrose) to project my images. I paint sometimes completely at random, or by a pattern (shapes, colors, textures) that I’ve seen somewhere. I use monotype to print according to the scientific grids I’m using. Then I use my sketches and paints and cut and paste them digitally. I then copy the digital image resulting of this collage into large compositions.
In your opinion, what’s your best/favorite piece you’ve made? It’s « garden of olives ». It could be about the fact that everywhere you go, there is always someone you’ll miss, or the indifference of the world, or its beauty, or the Humanity condition.
What’s your favorite place to see art, and why? I love all kind of museums but I admit that there are plenty of things to look at on Pinterest, too. Some pieces can only be appreciated in real life.
What living artists are you inspired by? Julie Mehretu, David Hockney, & Marlène Dumas.
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Website: www.Fleurtdefrance.com
Instagram: @fleurdefrance