Bonjour from Paris (France)
 

Hi
I precise Paris (France) as you know there is also a Paris (Texas) ;)
Do I need to say I like humour ?
I was not born to be a portraitist. Like you all, I have been thrown out of classes because I was sketching my teachers.. but I had been thrown out of my drawing classes either ... too bad !
My real vocation is to be a writter. Everything comes at his time and I 'm very patient. It's one of my main quality as you 'll see it on my paintings. I started really late to paint. I graduated in business administration and worked for a while in advertising before to launch my own companies as a pioneer in the French web (1984). It was fun and a horn of plenty. I sold my companies, lived a few adventures.. and decided to be a painter.
It was in october 96. I had never touched a brush or a pencil and I was 42 years old.
The fist year, I only painted dead birds in still life using my wife's watercolor box. I didn't take any lesson but my skill was improving each day and after a month, I was really happy with my work. A friend of mine pushed me to exhibit in the hunting fair of Paris in may 97, just 9 months after my start. It was a success and I got a few commissions. The most important one was for a dog portrait and it gave me the direction for the 8 years to come.

My first client launched me in the very wealthy and elegant world of French hunters and I had a lot oc commissions. So many that when I created my website in 2003, I called it "the dog Museum ". It has now 800 visitors a day.
Here is a watercolorportrait of my beloved labrador.
As you see, I like colour, details and contrast and it's my watercolour are in an unusual realistic style.

Sorry 8 I don't know how to insert the image in the text, so I open a new page...

In may 97, my wife explained me that "HB" was not a trademark like Cont

Welcome Cyrille,
What a beautiful city you come from. Nice work.

Cyrille,
Welcome from another European. I live near

Welcome Cyrille,

You have come to the right place. Your children's graphite portraits are fantastic, in my humble opinion. I hope you share some of them and join in on all the rich and varied conversations here.

Of course your dog portraits and comics are fantastic as well, as is your website. Your enthusiasm, optimism, confidence, sense of humor, technical mastery, and style are also most welcome (and hopefully a little contageous).

By the way, there is a little Parisian mimicry here in Philadelphia. We have a smaller version of Les Champs-Elysee (bridging the art museum, Rodin Museum, and Mansard-style City Hall :D)

Best,

Garth

welcome!
 

I have been to your website frequently in the past and am a fan of your dog portraits - I love the russells! I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Welcome, Cyrille! I'm very impressed with your dog portraits. They are more than realistic--they capture each animal's distinct personality. The same with your people. I hope you will enjoy the forum.

Alex

Welcome ...
 

Dear Cyrille,
Hello. Welcome to a Stroke of Genius! A good sense of humor is always a bonus. My fiance's daughter just got back from a month in France as an exchange student.
Your work is very good! Are you this talented with everything that you try?
We will be traveling to your part of the world in November, but, only to the Amalfi Coast in Italy to find the villa my fiance' and I are to be married in, next summer. We travel extensively and will be in the future. It would be nice to meet some of the portrait painters from around the world. I did have the opportunity to meet Daphne Todd, from London, when she came to NY for the seminar there, I think that was around 2000 with ASOPA. In 1996, I was part of an American delgation that went to Russia, that too was an awesome experience. We are all the same in the passion of the heart for what we do.
It is always great to meet people from around the world. I had painters from Niger and Spain write to me and fun corresponding, when I was a jurried member on this site. The camaraderie between portrait painters (human and animal) is a very unique connection that should be nurtured. Don't you agree? Cynthia has done a great job of bringing us all together. She deserves a lot of credit for that.
I hope you find a lot of new friends through this means. My fiance is learning to paint also, and has a very similar Internet business sale background. It would be interesting to talk to you further.
Bobbi

Waow ! What an international welcome

Merci! Obrigado! thanks ! Dank

Welcome Cyril!
Wow-- a portrait in india ink --very little room for error-- now that's impressive! Your dogs have got such character/personality too! Looking forward to more of your work. . .