Movement Expression Color
Monique Gastaud lives and works in the Nice region. She devoted herself to her innate passion for drawing and painting in her forties.
Conscious of this priceless gift that is life and out of love for the animals of which the human being is a part, #only animal in the world that thinks it is not one#, it is quite naturally that she made living beings her favorite theme at a time when animal art and drawing were not at all in the artistic trend.
Encouraged by her numerous national and international distinctions that her animal painting obtains, she partly intends her creations for the benefit of the Animal Cause, alongside associations as well as
Jeanne Augier, then owner of the Hotel NEGRESCO in Nice from where will follow a long friendly and artistically fruitful relationship.
- 15 œuvres de Monique Gastaud belong to the famous AUGIER MESNAGES NEGRESCO Fondation.
- Several others are referenced in the collection of the Royal ART MUSEUM of Bruxels in BELGIUM or are part of private collections.
- Monique appears in the Documentation Center Animal Art,
- Member of the National Art Academy of Cats
- Official Animal Painter of the AJNAC
- More than 30 paintings were created and decorated the former Phoenix Park aquarium Nice.
- Member of the AIAP National Committee with the UNESCO.
- Author of several posters for animal defense
In constant artistic research, her thematic range unfolds, her technique diversifies.
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“An interesting work with a promising future. ”
P. Amiel, Side Art, 2001
PAINTING THE LIFE
What could be stranger than wanting to freeze life on a canvas and yet, this visceral need to want to paint the living, the movement, is undoubtedly my answer so that somewhere we become aware that the energy of life is the most inexplicable and the most precious of gifts.
The breath of life, the beauty and variety of living beings whose balance on earth is so fragile, has always fascinated me deep inside, aware that nothing lasts, that existence in itself is an elusive notion.
Academic nudes and the animal world are my favorite themes.
Although I use different mediums for my paintings such as oil, acrylic on canvas, pastel... I like sketching and specifically the live model which requires spontaneity, speed and is the discipline which best meets my expectations to translate this moment of life.
Difficult to master, "sketching" requires years of regular training before you start to get a satisfactory and personal result - it is a constant fight that motivates me by using different techniques and colors alone or mixed that I decide at the last moment following what my model and my state of mind inspire me.
Each pose lasts between 2 and 10 minutes.
To feel the vigor of a horse galloping or jumping, I observe them in equestrian clubs, sketch them on site and then rework them from memory in the workshop.
Finally, it is in shelters, with a heavy heart, that I draw the energy essential to defend the animal cause.