ELIORA BOUSQUET'S ARTISTIC APPROACH

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My work is characterized by the notion of movement and the non-academic mixture of a rainbow of iridescent colors that I obtain while experimenting different painting techniques. Sensitive to the beauty of nature and the protection of our environment, I usually paint in acrylic, without any solvents or chemicals. My main goal? Move the spectators, make them marvel at the beauty of our world with themed, coded paintings whose story and hidden messages they are invited to look for...

AN ART IN MOTION

My painting is defined by a constant exploration of movement, light, and color. I strive to create works that awaken emotions, evoke wonder, and invite reflection. Each painting tells a coded story, whose hidden meaning the viewer is invited to uncover.

My works often take the form of thematic collections, each exploring a specific concept - whether it be the fleeting beauty of flowers, the magic of the cosmos, or the quest for a lost paradise.

This approach is deeply inspired by literature and music, two other passions that accompany and enrich my creative process.

TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS

You may know the little ditty: “Oil painting is harder, but it’s much more beautiful than water-based painting.”

And yet, I prefer - and work almost exclusively - with water-based paints. While I experiment with various techniques - acrylic, ink, watercolor - my favorite medium remains acrylic. It allows me to explore the transparency and layering of colors.

There are several reasons for this preference:

  • As I explain below, acrylic is an environmentally friendly paint. It is worked simply with water, and I use a varnish composed of 80% natural resin to finish my canvases - never chemical solvents, which are nearly unavoidable when painting with oil, for example;
  • Acrylic paint is flexible, enjoyable to work with, and dries very quickly (1 to 3 hours, depending on the thickness of the paint on the canvas). This allows me to complete each painting while the inspiration is still present. Indeed, although my work is thoughtful (I never paint “ex nihilo” but only after meditating on a subject to translate my thoughts or feelings), my painting is also instinctive ;
  • Acrylic paint enables me to create an incredible variety of colors. Each has a particular symbolism for me; I see them much like a poet or writer who seeks not the most common word but the most fitting one to describe a state of mind or a particular universe ;
  • If I occasionally use iridescent gel, powders, and pigments (mother-of-pearl, gold, copper, silver…) to create reflective effects, I very rarely mix my colors with other components (fixatives, gels, mediums…). I prefer to work with them in their natural, completely raw state, then shade them to achieve a maximum range of hues, much like working with watercolor. Indeed, I am particularly fond of wash effects, which lend the paintings a dreamy, surreal quality, imbued with poetry and mystery. Since acrylic dries very quickly, my technique involves layering colors in increasingly lighter and thinner coats to create effects of transparency and light. The final step is to enhance these soft colors with more saturated tones to create contrasts and give the paintings greater depth.

PAINTINGS THAT SEEM TO DANCE ON THE CANVAS…

Regardless of the collection, my gestures are always free and spontaneous, seeking to capture the present moment and imbue my paintings with a vibrant energy that I hope to transmit to the viewers.

These gestures are also often improvised, influenced by my mood at the time, as I listen to a piece of classical or jazz music. I simply cannot paint without music.

A RAINBOW OF COLORS…

"Color is, above all, the part of art that possesses a magical gift. While subject, form, and line appeal first to thought, color holds no meaning for the intellect but has total power over the emotions."
Eugène Delacroix

Each of my paintings is the result of a meticulous exploration of color, its nuances, and its optical effects. The search for light, contrast, and balance lies at the very heart of my artistic approach.

As such, colors play a central role in my art. I view them in a non-academic way, as visual emotions, with each hue carrying its own symbolic meaning.

Blue (especially turquoise) - a color situated between sky and sea - is a common thread throughout my collections. Representing freedom and infinity, blue is the color of the sky, which I never tire of admiring. I love the sky because it belongs to everyone, even though no one can own it. It is an eternal space, a realm of perfection and harmony, unreachable yet endlessly inspiring - a space between yesterday and tomorrow, where freedom takes root and imagination soars.

PAINTING AND DEPICTING…

"What a painting is, I do not know. It is what I seek. Each of my paintings poses the question. I can only say that, in my view, a painting, when observed deeply, is not a window to the outside but a door that opens inward."
Jean-Michel Sanejouand

Passionate about reading and writing, I enjoy painting as much as I enjoy "depicting."

My paintings function like visual riddles. I always paint them as if writing a mystery novel: each has a story whose key the audience must discover and carries a specific message. Some paintings are even connected to each other; they must be viewed as if reading a trilogy to grasp their full meaning.

In most cases, the riddles are contained in the paintings’ titles. My approach invites the viewer into an active dialogue with the work, making each painting a gateway to deeper reflection.

For instance:

1 - "Far From Eden" > 2 - "My Quest" > 3 - "A Dreamlike Odyssey" which symbolizes the concept that is dearest to me as an artist: FREEDOM. This Freedom passes through the INSPIRATION that I find while TRAVELING in my WAKING DREAMS (Oniris) and the search for PARADISE (Eden)...

As André Gide once advised, I would say this to those who share my vision: "Let the importance lie in your gaze, not in the thing you are looking at."

THE GOLDEN SPIRAL...

Because I'm craving for Harmony, I often use the Goden Spiral to build my artworks, especially from the collection "Celestial Visions".

Above : "Odyssey" - "the ark of the covenant" - "The Birth of Pegasus"

AN ECOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT

For me, painting is a way of expressing gratitude for the beauty of our world and of paying homage to its Creator. Inspired by this sensitivity, my work also seeks to encourage viewers to become more ecologically aware.

Indeed, my approach is ethical and environmentally conscious, with minimal use of chemical products (thinners, solvents, mediums, varnishes…) and a preference for natural materials, such as water-based paints (acrylic, watercolor).

Through painting, I aim to remind others that contemplating nature is both an infinite source of inspiration and a shared responsibility to protect it.

 

MY AIMS: TO MOVE, INSPIRE, AND AWAKEN WONDER!

My ambition as an artist is simple. Through my paintings, I seek to build bridges between imagination and reality, to unveil invisible worlds, and to offer moments of contemplation.

Each painting is an invitation to slow down, to dream, and to rediscover the magic that surrounds us in everyday life.

I invite you to explore my collections and immerse yourself in this universe where colors, forms, and emotions meet in a harmonious visual symphony.

MY PAINTINGS IN A NUTSHELL...

  • Because my work is based on constant experimentation, I use several techniques to obtain different results with the same range of colors:
  • Pure, Vibrant Colors
    I work with unaltered, raw colors, favoring all shades of blue and green—especially turquoise—alongside Venetian red (the purple of my logo) and Cadmium yellow. I avoid adding mediums, thinners, retarders, fixatives... I use the paint directly from the tube, with minimal water, except during the finishing stages.
  • Layering Techniques
    My painting approach varies between two extremes:
    Thick single-layer applications for collections like "CHROMATIC FANTASIAE," "EVANESCENCE," or "NATURESSENCES," where the paint is worked raw, without water or mixing. Multiple thin, translucent layers for collections like "CELESTIAL VISIONS," where the technique resembles watercolor. Here, every nuance is deliberate, aiming to create ethereal, vaporous, dreamlike, and diaphanous effects.
  • Dynamic and Instinctive Gestures
    My painting is energetic, instinctive, and almost automatic, giving prominence to gestures, movement, and rhythm.
  • A "Sensitive" Approach to Painting
    My art seeks to evoke emotion, wonder, and reflection, rooted in a spiritual quest exploring themes such as meaning and purpose, eternity, the beyond, and infinity. These concepts are often symbolized by depictions of the sky, wind (as a creative breath), and flowers (inherently ephemeral). My work is deeply inspired by the concept of Freedom, symbolized in many of my collections through imagery of bird feathers or sailing boat sails.
  • Symbols, Codes, and Messages
    My paintings are rich with signs, codes, and symbols (in titles, forms, and color combinations), as my art is a carrier of messages. I also frequently use the golden ratio to construct my compositions, particularly the golden spiral or Fibonacci spiral. This form fascinates me because, in my eyes, it is the visible shape of the source of all things.
  • Thematic Collections with Narratives
    Every painting belongs to a thematic collection, each with its own story. Much like a trilogy, the meaning of one painting often becomes clearer after viewing the entire series, as each canvas resonates with another. For this reason, I describe my work as "keyed painting," inviting viewers to unlock its deeper meanings.

All my collections
Aqualchemy • Celestial Visions • Chromatic FantasiaeCosmosis • Evanescence Luminescence • Naturessences  Poetic Fictions • Renaissance • Sea-Mulations • Serendipity Copyrights

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