Featured Artist Anne Reboul

French artist Anne Reboul presents a compelling collection of portraits, figurative art and narrative scenes. Find more of her portfolio on her website.

 

 

I draw, mostly in black and white, though occasionally in color or with a color accent on an otherwise black and white drawing. As will be apparent from my drawings, I am obsessed with people. I mainly draw portraits, occasionally nudes, and recently more complex scenes in which several people are included. People often react to my drawings by saying that they tell a story. That’s mainly because, unless one is a very poor artist indeed, people have stories (one could almost say that they are stories). By drawing them, one touches on their individual reality, allowing the viewer to feel the story behind the person depicted.

 

 

Another fascinating thing about drawing human beings is the feeling one has while drawing. For instance, when drawing a picture such as “Macro”, I have the sensation of touching her skin. Drawing becomes not only an intimate enterprise (it presumably always is), but one of the most intimate ways of being in touch with another inner reality.

 

 

I have long been fascinated by urban graffiti, which often seems to me the expression of a deep despair. Urban graffiti is an illustration of this.

 

 

Though I very seldom do landscape drawings, I am fascinated by the sea and the texture of waves. So I have drawn the occasional seascape.

 

 

I’ve never thought an artist should be impervious to the reality of the world. The last few years have been rich in untoward events. First, Covid came with a feeling of powerlessness which at first threw us back to a time when medicine was basically useless. This is illustrated in “Covid birds” which is an allusion to the pestilence doctors of medieval times.

 

 

Covid basically prevented us from traveling. I tried to assuage my frustration by drawing avatars in different locations. “Becca in Venice” is my favorite drawing in this series.

 

 

And just when Covid seemed to abate, the war in Ukraine came as a black tide against the Western world. The return of a territorial war in Europe in the 21st century is a dark portent. I have illustrated my feelings toward it in a series of drawings.

 

 

Finally, as another blow against the idea of freedom came the decision of the United States Supreme Court to overthrow Roe v. Wade. This opened the door to a strong regression of women’s rights, with potential consequences far beyond the states. The drawings in the series Tides of Regression are a shout of anger.

 

 

Anger may also be a manifestation of helplessness. I have just begun an empowering narrative series in which a small group of women fight for freedom in a patriarchal fantasyland, guided by a she-humming-bird, called Hummie.

 

 

Thus, this ends on a hopeful note.

 

Artist Anne Reboul invites you to follow her on Facebook.

 

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