@alice.vdw

Instagram: @alice.vdw  

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

Bonjour! I’m Alice, I am 22 and I am currently living in Paris. I came to Paris a few months ago for my studies but I originally come from a lovely region called Alsace, which is located in the east of France. I’ve been drawing and painting since my youngest age but it really is since I’ve realized how sensitive of a person I was that I’ve been exploring painting a bit more. I am quite an anxious person and painting really is a way for me to let all my anxieties go as well as to express my feelings.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

My paintings are a bit abstract but still with a clear identification of the subject. My work focuses on how the human body expresses our emotions, so I really want the shapes and volumes to be felt and defined. The colours I use are quite not realistic as it is a way for me to translate what the human body expresses, which emotions the body releases. At the same time, those colours represent the lights and shadows of the body (I generally use deep blue for the shadows and red for the lights).

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

I use mainly gouache (watercolour) as it really gives texture to the painting while still being kind of a soft medium. It goes easily with water and I do like the possibility of the painting being changed and not too deeply settled.

4. What is your artistic process like?

I start by drawing the shape of the body with a pencil, with not much detail. When the proportions do seem good, I then start using painting. I usually start by painting the shadows and then I go on with the lights. I always leave some blank parts, as is it important to me to let some space in the picture and to let it breathe. I prefer to draw live models (who are often my friends and family), as painting is about capturing a moment. But when I have no other choice I work from a photo.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Art plays a huge part in my life. It really is a part of me. I feel safe, alive and complete when I am painting. It is a kind of meditation to me. And it definitely allows me to see the world with more details and sensibility and to express this sensibility.

7. Where did you study?

I used to study law for 4 years, both in France and in the UK, and I am now a student in Paris in a school called Sciences Po, which is more focused on political sciences. My studies are not that much related to the art world but I always try to find a connection between the two.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? Working in an agency?

I have absolutely no idea. I do not really have a plan of what I want my life to look like. Maybe having my own workshop would be good.

9. What about in ten?

I have even less of an idea where I see myself!

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

To make people understand that we should not be ashamed of our emotions and of expressing them. Having feelings is what makes us alive so why should we hide them? We often are insecure of showing our negative feelings. But that’s what life is about no? It’s about feeling things, whether they are good or not. So it is ok to feel bad, sad, or angry, at some point in your life, but the society we live in seems not the accept this balance. My work aims to criticize this aspect of our society, which in the end restraints ourselves from being who we are.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

Hummus! (Everything made of chickpeas really).

12. Favourite book?

I love crime novels so I would say “Temps glaciaires” written by Fred Vargas.

13. Favourite genre of music?

I do not listen to only one genre of music or one artist in particular. I listen to songs that speak to me and touch me, ranging from rap to classical music along with indie pop. I’ve recently discovered a Canadian artist, Charlotte Cardin who is truly amazing.

14. What are your hobbies?

Not to mention drawing and painting, I would say cycling, gardening and most important of all, spending time with my friends.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I have always been fascinated by Antiquity so I would say an archaeologist.