Oil on canvas – 11,81 x 11,81 inch – Unique work

The idea came to me one beautiful morning of spring.

As I looked at my bouquet of freshly picked peonies in a beautiful garden of a small house in Conches-sur-Gondoire, a light went on in my mind … Does it ring the bell? It was in Peonies 1!

And then, there was Peonies 2 with: so this one would be like a white water lily on a fluffy bed of pink peonies. Of course, it’s not a water lily, we all agree, it’s a peony but it would be just as if. Well, it almost looks like she floats on silk. You would almost dive in. She is there all alone, all immaculate white, triumphant, pale. She would be almost cadaverous if I wanted to sound a little bit scary. Fortunately, it is not the case. I wish her to look beautiful, dignified, sassy if necessary. And also proudly making a difference from the others all dapper, rosy too, probably embarrassed by so much magnificent.

In Peonies 3, I start the wallpaper! No, this is not a joke. I’m not in the mood ! For this third painting, I wanted to pretend it was part of a wallpaper from years ago … who cares! It’s like taking a picture of the finished painting and reproducing the same shot over yards and yards in length and width. The principle of wallpaper in fact. With the same notion of wanting to plunge your nose and your face and your shoulders and your whole body like in an Olympic swimming pool. The idea would be to feel overwhelmed by the influx of fresh and sweet scents of a spring morning and so characteristic of peonies. For me it would be like going back to childhood.

One day, against the wall of our family country house near Auxerre, a bird played the sower. One spring morning, a base of peonies grew between two cracks between the wall and the sidewalk on the garden side. What a great idea. And since that period of childhood when I reveled in this powerful scent, intoxicating without being heady, I have kept traces of peonies within me. And when I saw some again in Conches … Everything came back to me and the idea of a painting became obvious.

Here is the end of this poetic and mural episode!