Le Tour de France in Art

So, Le Tour has started again, and I hope to be able to follow it from the beginning to the end this year. Last year I saw the first 10 stages, and then we went away to the Czech Republic. But before I left I had had time to start an artwork series called “Le Tour de France” -very original, isn’t it?  – . which I partly presented in this blog in different posts. This series has been so far extremely popular, the most  among them having been

Le Tour de France 03 – by Miki

Here is one more from the series, more abstract perhaps, but full of recognisable cycling movement!

Le Tour de France 10 – by Miki

I have recently sold in the USA following original painting in acrylics, “Breaking Away”, but if you are interested prints are still available

Breaking away – by Miki

And also I though that a detail of that painting might very interesting standing for itself. I personally like it a lot.

Breaking away 02 – by Miki

Anyway, all my Tour de France paintings are  available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the widgets below to access my FAA Gallery

Sports Art Video

I’ll make a short interlude now between all my Crete and Cyprus travel paintings and stories to present to you my new video. It is a a selection of my sport artworks in a variety of techniques depicting a huge range of different sports such as cycling, golf, horse racing, motorbike racing, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, boxing, skating, ski jumping, etc.

Kev Moore has created a great piece of music called “Higher, Faster, Harder, Stronger,  “ and put all the stuff together in the form of the following video. The result is great, have a look!

And don’t forget: each of the artworks presented there is available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper or canvas, and also as greeting cards. Just click on the image below to access my FAA Sport Paintings Gallery

FAA Sports Art Gallery – by Miki

9 Kids and 1 Teacher in Art Movements

In the Summer of 2011 I received the following email, with the title “Art Movements”

“Hello Miki

My name is Victoria Thornton, I am currently working as a teaching assistant and training to become a primary school teacher. I am due to teach art to a year 6 class in September and we are studying the unit ‘people in action’. I have decided to draw inspiration from artists such as Leger, Degas, Picasso, Matisse and yourself! I will be introducing the children to your cyclist and dancer paintings as I am sure your style of work will really inspire them to produce something amazing. We will be creating a fact file for each artist that we are studying; could you tell me what art movement you class your work as/ what style of artist you would describe yourself as? (For example I will be introducing the terms Cubism, Impressionism and Fauvism to the children) Which artists have inspired you?…

I hope you are able to help, thank you.

Victoria. “

Now, without blowing my own trumpet , I must say that I am often contacted by students and teachers from around the world, who want to use my art for their purpose, the teachers to teach, the students to learn. And honestly I find it quite flattering and touching. I don’t make a big deal out of my art myself , I just paint. Not that I am deprecating myself, I do like much of the stuff I paint, it’s just that I don’t like to make big words about it, pretending I am an ARTIST, inspired by higher forces and things like that. Read my answer  to Vicky and you might understand better how my artist soul functions….

“Hello Victoria,

thanks for your mail.. and for the great company (Degas, Picasso, Matisse…)  you will give me! 

I am a very unusual artist in the sense that I was never really interested in art. I just love painting and creating. This means that I was never inspired by any artist, as I hardly ever looked at their works! I am a very spontaneous, intuitive artist, never think about what I do, I just take my brushes or pen and start… . I am certainly not that kind of artists making big words about their own art… I hope this is not too disappointing for you!

I gave many interviews to art students and teachers, who wanted to use my art in their studies. One of them was about my sport paintings. If you are interested to read it, just let me know. it might contain useful info to you.

Concerning sports, and dancing: well, I am myself a very active sportier, and this is why movement takes a very important place all across my art. I love movement, and I need it.

I can’t describe myself in a special style. I change my styles according to my moods.  If there is a style which describes movement in art, something like “Movementism”, or “Changism”, yes, this would be me!

I have the feeling I am not helping you very much with my answers, I feel really sorry about that. But i don;t want to pretend to be something I am not. Let me know please if we can “approach myself” in a way which could help you. And as I said, some of the interviews might be useful…

Warm regards from Spain”

Well, we had some more exchanges, and eventually I was able to give Vicky some useful info about myself and my art, and we both were happy. She wrote

“Perhaps once the children have produced some work I could email you with an attached photo….”

As I read this sentence, I thought,  well, they always say it, and I never hear from them again after they have got what they want! This indeed always happens to me, and in the meanwhile I am so bitter about it that I tend not to answer these students/teachers requests any more. Which saddens me very much in fact. But you know, I put work into it to answer their questions, make big interviews sometimes, send high quality painting files, and then I never hear from them again in spite of big promises. Something I will never understand! I know it is a result of the internet social interaction -forgetting all good manners and respect and memory!-, but I do hope I will never become like this myself!

Anyway, to my immense surprise I received an email from Vicky some days ago

Hi Miki,

It’s Vicky Thornton here, I got in touch with you last summer in order to get some info about your work for my art lessons (children aged 10-11). Well, the kids really enjoyed studying you and were particularly inspired by your cyclist pieces. They went on to create similar paintings themselves (please see photo-album attached for a selection of the artwork) using oil pastels and watercolours. They were very excited when I told them that I had been in contact with you via email and that I would be sending you some examples of their work : )

Hope you’re well and had a lovely Xmas- we had a huge snowfall last night in fact so it feels like Xmas again here in the UK!
Vicky x

Well, believe me, this made up for all the previous disappointments!

So, here they are – these wonderful artworks created by these 9 kids and inspired by my cycling paintings. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! I personally find them great, so great that they really are worth to be published WORLDWIDE!

Number 01

Number 02

Number 03

Number 04

Number 05

Number 06

Number 07

Number 08

Number 09

I hope these paintings won’t be the last ones I see from these kids. ALL of them have the ability and the talent inside of them, I can see it in each of these paintings. I hope that in their life they will come across such wonderful teachers as Vicky seems to be, who know to motivate them to go on with their art and get it out into the world, in colours and lines and forms, what they artistically have got inside!

I of course asked Vicky for the permission to publish these artworks and her name in my blog. She was enthusiastic about it and asked me to add following info:

 ”the paintings were done by year 6 children (aged 10-11) at Weston Village Primary School in Cheshire, England”

Well, kids, be sure then if I go to Cheshire one day, I will visit you at school and see how you are doing. So better take your pencils and brushes again right now and go on creating such great art! But before I can come, I guess I will have to check on a UK map where Cheshire is… we French are so bad at geography!

Now it is my turn to ask you all something: I would like to know, just because it interests me, who painted which painting. By that I mean: girl or boy? I have my little idea about it, and I really would like to  see if I am right. So please, leave me a comment on this blog when you recognise your painting (Just put the number of the painting and “girl” or “boy”.. you can write more about you if you fancy, I would be very happy to know more about you!).

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

Art and Sports 01 – Cycling

Le Tour de France 05 – by Miki

This artwork is meant to represent only movement and colours, hence the little details, just colours stains and lines moving with high speed through the frame…

After all that dreamy esoteric stuff from my posts last week, let us come back to more real things. In fact, I think I will make a sport art weeks. As I often said, I love sports, as well actively as passively. Sport is vital for my whole well-being.. so much that if I spend one day without any sport activity, I feel like dead! I know, it sounds exaggerated, but I am an exaggerated person all over, with huge attraction to all kind of extremes… not extreme sports though!!! 

And of course, i love painting everything which inspires me passion. So here we go with the sports art week! I am not sure I will have enough sports paintings for a whole week (from different sports I mean), and I might have to create again.. But I feel lazy right now, so let us start with what I have.

In July I made a series of art works featuring the Tour de France, and they have become  quite popular. I presented the first four of the series in an earlier post,  “The Tour de France 01″, Here are some more.

Le Tour de France 06 – by Miki

It was raining that day as the bikers crossed that village in the North of France.. On the painting I wanted to feature both aspects: the grey rainy weather, and the colour wave of the racers . I did not put too many colours in that wave though, it did not look right, or at least it took over the whole atmosphere of the art work, and nothing was left from the rain.

I was asked if I would paint La Vuelta too, but well, it finished yesterday, and anyway: I didn’t really fancy. The Tour de France is for me THE RACE, I can’t think with passion of any other one. And when there is no passion, I can’t paint it. Anyway, guys racing on their bikes look all the same, in France, Spain or Italy. This would be only a repetition, and I hate repetitions! Perhaps next year, I will paint the Tour de France again, but in another style and technique, if some come to my mind.

Le Tour de France 07 – by Miki

Always loved the red dotted shirt, rewarding the best mountains climber it makes such a nice and funny contrast to all the other ones!

So, I think it is enough cycling for today, I feel exhausted! 

You can purchase prints of these paintings (on paper or canvas) in many different sizes, or a greeting card, in my online gallery. Just click on the widgets below

And more generally you can see many of my dreams, nightmares, passions, loves and hates by going to my gallery “Miki’s Enchanted World”

The Tour de France 01

Tour de France 01 – by Miki

In homage to the Tour de France I started a new series of cycling paintings. As often in the last years, they will be done in a mixed technique including classical art (watercolour, pastel, ink) and digital art. The digital part being to increase the vibrancy of the colours and sometimes to create special effects of movement which I find especially adequate in sports art.

Le Tour de France 02 – by Miki

But these paintings won’t all be exactly in the same style, I want to try different stuff, different ways of abstractions and drawings.

In the painting below for example I tried to minimalise the drawing. Juts some principal lines, and then loads of bold colours as a contrast to the thick black lines.

Le Tour de France 03 – by Miki

The last one is an impression of the third stage of the race yesterday. In the TV coverage they were often showing that church and town from the air. That gave me the idea of that composition. Not quite easy to realise, but great fun! And I like the result, makes me want to do some more in that style!

Le Tour de France 04 – by Miki

And if you like them too, you can purchase a print (on paper or canvas) in many different sizes, or a greeting card, in my online gallery. Just click on the widget below

Cycloscape 01: The Lonely Rider

Cycloscape 01 - by Miki

Some days ago I posted here “Blues United”, my latest acrylics cycling painting, and announced some new works in my “scapes” technique, that mix between classical and digital art. A technique I quite love because it is faster (and I am an impatient artist…), but also because it allows to add some structure and colour effects, more difficult to reach with traditional pens or brushes.

Concerning the results, some people prefer a full classical technique, because it looks more real, has  more physical substance. Truth is that a paints structure on a canvas is something very beautiful, sensual even. For the eyes, and also for the fingers when one is allowed to touch the painting… which I allowed myself… and my closest friends perhaps! 

On the other side that mixed  technique allows more vibrancy. The artworks look often quite surreal, like from a dream world, or a parallel world to our normal reality.. in fact exactly like something from the cyberspace, what it is, somehow! And some people love everything cyber… personally I love all techniques, and which one I prefer depends only on my daily mood and my actual connection to the real world, which I sometimes like to lose…  

If you want to purchase a print of my lonely rider (on paper or canvas and many different sizes available) just click on the widget below

Blues United

Blues United - by Miki

Acrylics on canvas – 75 x 150 cm – 2011

The title of that cycling painting probably sounds more like football, but well, I love it, and no other words, I think, could better describe that painting.

Of course, in French, I would call it

“Allez Les Bleus!”

I have decided to make a sport paintings series in acrylics on canvas, cycling is just the beginning. I am done with cycling now, the next sport theme  will be tennis. But, as I did it with bullfight, I won’t only paint sports in acrylics on canvas, i will also do some “Sportscapes”, in this personal technique I used the first time for my Fantascapes series, a mix technique between classical art (pastel, watercolour, gouache, ink, colour pens, etc…) and digital art . I will present soon here in this blog my first “Cycloscape”.

The original “Blues United” is currently for sale. If you are interested, contact me.

And if you want a print (on paper or canvas and many different sizes available) just click on the widget below

The Art of Cycling 03 – Yellow Triumph

The Art of Cycling 03 - by Miki

Acrylics on canvas – 100 x 100 cm – 2011

The second of the cycling paintings in my “new” impressionist style.

The first, “Breaking Away”,  is to be seen here.

The original is currently for sale. If you are interested, contact me.

And if you want a print (on paper or canvas and many different sizes available) just click on the widget below

The Art of Cycling 02 : Breaking Away

Cycling 02: Breaking Away - by Miki

Acrylics on canvas – 100 x 100 cm – 2011

After the painting “Time Lines” painted on commission for a Spanish client, a professional from the Spanish Cycling World, I have decided to paint 2 or 3 more cycling themes. Cycling, and especially the “Tour de France”. has been an important part of my childhood.

I painted this one in pure impressionist style. I thought that this would render best what I wanted to express: the speed, the movement, but also the essence of cycling from the point of view of a spectator. No interest in details, and especially not in the technical details of a bicycle!

Also, being French, I thought it was time to give my contribution to the wonderful world of impressionism. It is indeed my very first painting in this style. Considering the fun I had doing it, it won’t be the last one. Also it is a challenge, and I love challenges: the challenge being not to step over the line, the line beyond which the impressionism starts to become realism.

My next cycling painting will be mainly in this style.. coming soon!

The original is currently for sale. If you are interested, contact me. And if you want a print (on paper or canvas and many different sizes available) just click on the widget below

The Art of Cycling 01

Cycling 01 "Yime Lines" - By Miki

Acrylics on Canvas – 80 x 60 cm

Today I want to present to you my last painting on commission. I am not a big fan of paintings on commission, as there is always quite a risk, some kind of stress and above all, it is always connected to some restriction of freedom, which is my worst enemy. But a commission is also a challenge, and when the client is happy, the emotional reward for me is much bigger than by any other sales.

Anyway, just before Christmas, I was contacted by a professional in the Spanish Cycling World, asking me to make some cycling and other sports paintings on commission. Here is the first one, which I just finished.

In this special case I am very happy about the commission, for 2 very important reasons:

Firstly, I love sport, and I love to paint sport. I have always wanted to make some sports paintings, did some in the past but in watercolour and gouache on paper. But I wanted to do some work on canvas, just could not find the time so far, or at least it was not always on top of my priorities.  This commission is a wonderful occasion to start.

Secondly, concerning cycling, I have a special emotional relationship to this sport. As I was a child and we were still living in the French Pyrenees where I was born, we used to go and see the Tour de France when they were passing in the Tourmalet and other mountain passes. And it was always a big party. Painting that guy racing through the canvas really put took me back to that time, and in fact, I felt like going there again…

one more dream on my long list of dreams of places to visit and events to attend!