Portraits, a psychologist's job

Portraitist ( for caricature, i don't know how to do it)

I like to give the personality and inner life of models back in my pictures.

My approach is always caring. A care sometimes tinged with humour.

A good portrait will spark three kind of reactions from the model :

— Happiness :

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A portrait is a recognition of our deep personality, our particularities and integrity. If the realization is aesthetic, if the picture is fine, it will provoque a reaction of well-being.

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— Embarrassment :

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Modesty or shyness of the model can generate a feeling of discomfort, but often accompanied by a dose of pleasure. Because aesthetic pleasure can overcome many timidities.

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— Anger :

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A successful portrait will reveal hidden things, buried with more or less efficiency. A harsh

if not pathological personality can react with violence.

I choose my models amongst people i like, and who impressed me. In case of an order, i know my limits, so i ca decline an offer if i feel not able to do.

As for Simenon, i never read him.

A photo showed him sitting on a bench in Switzerland. His gaze fixed on the lens

seemed to say:

"Get out of my field of vision, disappear from my sight". His eyes froze me, I would not have liked to meet him. Such expressiveness made me want to represent him.

And then ... Maigret is emblematic of the postwar society, my parents lived in.

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