q)So, can you tell me a
little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info,
etc?
a)Well, Francois Escalmel,
that is my full name. My father was born in France and my mother is canadian.
Both were teachers. I’m thirty six. I’ve studied graphic design, art history and
I’m a painter but I’m also an illustrator. As an illustrator I do photorealistic
illustrations mainly for advertising and always drawn with the software
Photoshop. When I’m a painter, I always use oil on canvas and basically I
completely do what I want. I’m totally free and that’s what I love, being able
to express myself completely without any kind of idea of censorship or will it
sell or not. My painting is completely pure.
q)How did you get started
making art?
a)I’ve been drawing since I
was a kid. It became important I think around the age of seven or eight.I’ve
always been very shy so drawing became a mean of expressing myself. I hesitated
long before making the leap to color but eventually around my teenage years I
jumped into oil painting.At the same time I had to think of what I wanted to do
as a carreer. I very much enjoyed drawing but also writing and so I hesitated
between the two.In the end I opted to study graphic design with the idea of
becoming an illustrator because here in Montreal, Canada there is no school of
illustration so that was the closest thing, there were some classes on
illustration. I chose illustration because it seemed less far fetched than
making a living as a painter. From then on I became an illustrator slowly
building a reputation and a clientele and during this period I was painting for
myself on and off. And then around the year 2000. I found myself with some free
time and a desire to try myself again at painting with very much in mind that
spirit of freedom that I described in question no. 1. and then it clicked, I had
found my way,what I wanted to do.
q)How would you describe
your art?
a)Well, that’s a complex
question. It’s figurative painting but there’s also there a definite interest in
the abstract and lately the abstract quality of cartoons (dessin anime) has been
a great Inspiration provoking clashes between 3-d and 2-d elements. I would also
say that my paintings are animated with a surrealist spirit. When I do a
painting I don’t know what it means to me. It’s a kind of seal of authenticity
that I am unable to deciper it. A lot of the times the meaning will become
apparent to me many months or years later. My paintings are very personal but I
hope that people can relate to their subject matters. For me art is sharing, you
share an experience through this object, the painting, in a completely
non-verbal way. It’s like: step in my shoes for awhile, see what it’s
like.
q)Where do you get the
inspiration for your art?
a)The inspiration for my
art comes from everywhere. I am very curious and I always watch what other
artists are doing. Basically I’m a great fan.I always buy art books, magazines,
go to see movies. Movies are a great inspiration, I tape them and can watch the
same movie many, many times.I’m the same with books, I reread them constantly,
my favorites ones.Generally it means there’s something there I’ve got to
extract, something I m relating to in a very intense manner. So art is a great
inspiration but of course life itself, people, objects, anything. The
inspiration is a strange mix of purely esthetic impressions and strong emotions
that I want to convey through the painting.
q)What are you working on
now?
a)Well, I’m always working
on new paintings. Recently they have become bigger and bigger in scale. The last
paintings I've have completed are very tortured, there’s a lot of pain in there
because I’ve been going through a really tough time, in fact the toughest in all
my life so it reflects in the paintings. I’m also working on an experimental
film, a kind of interpretation of the universe depicted in my paintings but
through the medium of film. I’m having great fun with this project as the media
of film is very new to me, it s all about discovery. I envision this project as
an almost feature film that I would like to distribute and show in festivals and
such.I am also working on a documentary film about the american painterJerome
Witkin, a painter I admire very much. I’ve been for a couple ofyears now
following him when he does exhibitions; I’ve interviewed him and some friends,
family and art critics... In this project I am at the stage of doing the editing
of the main part of the film and then I’ll go and interview a few more people to
complete the film.
q)Are there some web sites
that you would like to recomend?Artists,art
communities,xxx,...!?
a)Well, obviously, I would
suggest to go see the website of my Gallery Mondo Bizzarro ( www.mondobizzarro.net) , located in Rome, and
the first gallery to have put trust in me, in what I do. you will discover there
other interesting artists. You can also check www.lautregalerie.com, the gallery that
represents me in my hometown of Montreal. I would also recommend www.kristiropeleski.com, Kristi is a friend of
mine and an excellent painter. I would also suggest http://www.ewhite.com/, the site of painter Eric
White, always interesting. Then I've got a friend who is ina rock and roll band
so can you check his band called "leap" at www.leaparea.com. there is also
http://www.celinemalepart.com/ which is coming soon I
think, Celine is a good friend and illustrator and painter too.www.lastgasp.com is also a good place to
visit. Last Gasp is the distributor of my books for North America and you will
find there a big catalogue of interesting and unusual books. Another painter and
friend is Heidi Taillefer, you can see her art at www.heiditaillefer.com. and finally I encourage
you to go see www.elisegravel.com, Elise is a wonderful
illustrator and author of provocative children s books.
q)What programs / materials
/ tools do you use to create yourpieces?
a)I always create first the
image of a painting using the software Photoshop. Usually working from
photographs I took myself of from bits and pieces from anything: photographs,
paintings. It’s important to me to make come together a great variety of
sources. So the Photoshop phase is when the creative process is taking place,
that 's where I try this and that, it’s very trial and error. Without knowing
exactly what I wantto say I do feel when something is right or not. Nothing is
gratuitious,Everything is there for a reason even though I don't know what that
reason is. When I am sure I’ve got the image, I print it all in little 8x10
sheets, tape these sheets together put charcoal on the back of them and trace
the main lines of the subject on to the canvas at the exact size. Then I’m ready
to start the underpainting which I always do in brown hues using at this stage a
solvant. Then I will apply the colors with a relatively fast drying medium. For
the solvant and medium I’ve tried many many products which are all pretty
harmful on the health. For some years now I’ve been using the gamblin products
which seem less harmful.
q)What advice would you
give to younger up and coming artist?
a)I would tell them to hang
in there! And that they have to give themselves time. Finding what you want to
say and how to say it doesn’ t come instantly. It's a slow evolutional process.
I don't think it canbe rushed. What is the most important is to be true to your
heart, to yourself, it’s the only way to really share through the art. You don’t
lie, you have to give yourself completely.Apart from that, I don’t know exactly
what I would suggest. The artworld contains many different worlds within itself
so I would say thatyou have to do your homework, know what s going on, be
curious, be open,observe.
q)What is your personal
definition of life and art and everythingelse in between?
a)Whoa! That's a big
question! I think the way I see art I’ve already answered in previous questions:
a non-verbal way-experience to sharewith fellow humans. This process has to do
with contemplation, the viewer has to stop, immerse himself/herself in the
art.Life is a school. There you go, what do you think of that, the biggest
question, the shortest answer!!
q)Do you think that art is
a universal language - transcending all thedifferent languages, cultures and
religions etc?
a)Yes I do. To do art I
think you must have faith, faith in it, in what it can do. And I most certainly
do, if I didn’t I wouldn’t spend so much time doing it, I would do something
else with my life. Can it really transcend every cultures, religions? Obviously
not, not always. There are so many big differences between ways of thinking and
ways to be on the planet, it would be utopic to think that art has that
incredible power to transcend everything. I think it can work from time to time
but of course the flow is easier amongst people of same or similar
culture.Doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try! So yes and no but we have to try
anyway and I identify very easily to that sort of romantic idea of working for a
lost cause, and I think that little victories are victories just the
same!
q)What are your artistic
influences?
a)They are legion. When I
was a teenager I was very interested in Surrealism and read everything about it.
I have a pretty good general knowledge of art history so when I do something I
know where I’m setting my foot. But I guess it’s really individual artists that
have had the most impact on me. Norman Rockwell I love enormously, I feel very
close to him, like I knew him, I think we’re very similar as people. I feel the
same with Buster Keaton. Andrew Wyeth I also absolutely love and is always a
great inspiration. Here's a short list but there are many more:Carlos Nine,
Liberatore, the films of Walt Disney, The Brothers Hildebtandt, Gottfried
Helnwein, Salvador Dali, the films of Guy Maddin,the films of David Lynch,
Vincent Desiderio, Jerome Witkin, James Gleeson, Inka Essenhigh, Kent Williams,
Ed Kienholz, Wei Dong, John Currin, Eric White, Anya Janssen, Todd Schoor,
...
q)How are the reactions on
your work in general?
a)In general, I would say
they are pretty good, people seem to appreciate it although sometimes some
subjects I suppose can be perceived as difficult. I’m responding to this
question but you know I only see people when there’s a vernissage and then I don
t see them again. In a certain way there’s a disconnection between me, the art
and the people who will see it. There are at this point two books on my work
(produced by Mondo Bizzarro Gallery) and sometimes I think about these people
who have the books and whom I will never meet but who share an interest for what
I’m doing, and are possibly in many different countries, it’s very strange. I
have to say that it’s always with a certain surprise that I sell a painting
because I do feel that my paintings are so personal but I guess it speaks to the
universality of the human experience, that we are in fact not that different
from one another.
q)Do you have many
connections in the underground scene?
a)Well you would have to
define what is the underground or which underground are we talking about? I am
not very well known so I guess that would say that I’m in the underground scene
along with most of the artists I’m friends with. But what does it mean? For me
what’s important is that more and more people see what I do, have the
opportunity to bein contact with my work. And I guess that is also the wish of
every artist. I guess I resist any sort of classification, I find it
limiting.There are, to my eyes, good artists and not so good artists in every
sphere of the artworld, whatever you come from, or where you re going,whether
yo're part of pop culture or not, or you’re in a mainstream gallery or in an
avant-garde gallery, all these categories don’t mean a thing to me, it’s the
work that counts.
q)Tell us about a recent
dream you had.
a)In most of my dreams I am
chased by wild animals who want to attack me.Usually at first they seem to be
safely behind a fence but then there is a door which is open and I realize that
they can come after me and they do. A very good example of that is a very vivid
dream from childhood where I was pursued by a bear in the alley near where I
lived. I remember going up the steps, as a kid, this bear not far behind and
searching wildly for my key to open the door. In an other dream I remember very
well this lynx put his paw on my hand and tore the flesh of the back of my hand
and I can remember the blood that appeared instantly and the pain and
then I woke up. A variation of that which also comes regularly is that I’m
pursued by people with guns who shoot at me and basically want to kill me. I
shoot back and a lot of the times I wake up the instant I die. So you see a lot
of aggressions, I’m working on that!
q)What is freedom to you as
an artist?
a)Freedom is everything to
me. And I have complete freedom over what I paint. I would not do it any other
way.What would be the use of speaking, of expressing myself if I was not
completely honest? It has to be. You know when I paint I not only think of the
people living now, I think of the generations to come, the paintings will still
be there, it’s a legacy, an account of what it was like to be alive and of
course my personal experience of it.
q)Are there any particular
works you've done that stand out as your favorites?
a)Yes, definitely. The
firsts to come to mind are: play the game, flinch,touch, love disguised as sex,
a sense of fun, angry ghost, listen,secrets, the train, are you happy and of
course many, many others and many recent ones that maybe not too much people
have seen. Of course I am more drawn to what I am doing now, the stuff I’m
exploring now and even thinking into the future at what it will become. You know
it’s very hard, near impossible, to predict the success of a painting. I know it
when I’m doing it and it occurred on more than one occasion that I finish the
painting and realize it’s not working and so I usually destroy it. You need to
have faith, take the plunge into this weird experience where you are emotionally
linked to this object you are making. I remember sometimes waking in the middle
of the night and thinking: I should have put blue there instead of
black!
q) Last Books you
read?
a)I reread the last Harry
Potter, very entertaining and real high drama.I wont tell you who dies at the
end! I also reread "the dreaming jewels"by Theodore Sturgeon, a book that s been
with me all my life. I read it first when I was maybe eight or nine years old
and I have reread it through out my life and it s funny because I think only now
do I understand why it has always fascinated me so much, it's because I’m so
much like the main character, Horty, it’s basically the story of my life
illustrated in a metaphorical manner. I would also sugget "the amazing
adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon, a great novel set more or
less during world war two in the world of the comic books, but saying that
doesn’t say anything because this book is so intelligent and complex.Lastly, I
also reread "In the heart of the sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick,it tells the story
of the ship "Essex" which was sunk by a whale, the true story that inspired Moby
Dick. There were survivors but a very harsh journey that included cannibalism in
order to survive, a very hard but interesting read.
q)Last records you
bought?
a)The last record I bought
was a double album by Sidney Bechet, I bought the records and I bought a book of
written music of the same pieces because I’m learning to play the clarinet and I
want to learn some ofhis tunes, mostly numbers he, I think, composed when he was
in France.Beautiful stuff. And I can tell you which record I’m going to buy
next,it’s called "robots apres tout" by the french artist "Katherine", afriend
lend it to me and I completely fell in love with this record, it's so very
original, what the songs are about, but it works perfectly.Very
inspiring!
q)Who are your favourite
artists & Your favourite galleries?
a)One of my favourite
artists working at the moment is Inka Essenhigh. Her style of painting is very
unique, completely her own, a very strange blend of abstract and figurative; I
feel it’s very surrealistic. JeromeWitkin is also a remarkable artist, tackling
big, serious, important and contemporary themes with a style of painting that is
realistic and at the same time very loose and abstract. John Currin, James
Esber, WeiDong, also artists of great interest for me and working today. I’m not
sure I have any favorite galleries, I focus more on artists.
q)Your
contacts..E-mail.Links
a)You can write to me at:
francois.escalmel@sympatico.ca
my website about my
paintings: www.francoisescalmel.com
and you can find some of my
illustrations on this website:www.illusionrep.com
q)So, can you tell me a little
about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?
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