I have no memory of an artistic start. Painting is a part of me, not something I do. Since very young I have been using pencils, tempera, oil, pastel to express what permeated my life.

I studied philosophy, foreign languages and hand writing psychology. Followed long stays and travels in foreign countries. Above all, I am interested in the personal and unswerving voyage into the human landscape.

I did not want to complete any academic Art schooling, what was taught was of little value to me, except for the use of materials. I was not seeking a teacher but an artist. I attended André Tardieu's weekly lesson for two years . A. Tardieu would not give any recipe but would provide technical hints and self confidence. I have always thought the purpose of Art was different from producing handicraft , and that it did not pitch at any commercial market.

Things are not just what has been told or taught. Abstract or figurative representation narrows the notion of Art. An atmosphere, a sensation, an object deliver some raw material. But the outside world needs some doing to get an access to imagination. Lines and blank suggest and convey more than conventional information. Common preconceived ideas quickly chip away from the so-called real and material things when the paint itself becomes the extention of the artist's emotion. The important thing is not what you see, but how you see . The task consists in unhobbling the imagination from the demand of ratio. Painting is a hands-on experience that connects you to structures and ideas that are familiar to you and need to make their way out. It is precisely because I don't know why that something will possibly emerge. I come up with shapes and colors that result in what they are meant to be : a visual and palpable outcome of an inner voice which is trying to make sense.

Pascale Gindre-Raillard