2025-04-15 - RADIO TEMPS RODEZ - PRO FORMA BROADCAST 
INTERVIEW

To find out more about Nympheus Limunansis, listen to the “Pro Forma” broadcast on RadioTempsRodez.

(French)

https://soundcloud.com/radiotempsrodez/pro-forma-nympheus-luminansis-avec-lartiste-peintre-laurence-saunois-a-figeac

RADIO interview conducted by Patrice LEMOUX,
Former President of the Friends of the Soulages Museum

You are listening to Pro Forma. Pro Forma invites you to meet artists . During these encounters, Patrice Lemoux and his guests will share with you their impressions, their intentions, their emotions, and everything they wanted to put into their creations. Step into their world for a moment and discover art in a different way.

Hello, ProForma listeners. Today I am on the outskirts of Figeac with Laurence Saunois, a painter who is going to talk to us about her plans to exhibit her new series of paintings.
Good morning Laurence Saunois.

Good morning everyone.

Laurence Saunois, you're going to tell us about this project that you've been working on for several years.

Yes, indeed, I started this project in 2017, so I've been working on it for a few years now. For quite some time now, that's for sure.

It's called Les Nymphéas

Yes, Nympheus Luminansis, the Water Lilies of Light. Nympheus Luminansis because I wanted something that was completely unique and that reflected the bright and colorful side of my paintings.

So, we can't help but think of Monet's famous Water Lilies, but also of the garden we visited with you, the wonderful garden that surrounds your home and your studios. So why did you choose water lilies? Is it the garden or the artist that attracts you, or both?

You could say that when I visited Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, I had a revelation of sorts. I saw everything in color, everything in light, everything in paint, and I was deeply moved by this light and by this visit. And when I came home and saw the colors and lights of my garden too, it was obvious to me. I wanted to create a series of paintings that would correlate with nature, biodiversity, light, color, and everything that goes with it.

A little bit of all the values you want to represent in these works. So, it's a series of 10 paintings. Is it a commission of some kind? Can you tell us a little more about this project, which is not yet complete? You still have one tenth of a painting left to do.

That's right, I have one tenth of a painting left to do. I started the first one shortly after visiting Claude Monet's gardens. It took me four years to finish it. And then I posted that first painting on the internet, on Facebook. I have a museum curator and tour organizer who decided to include the Water Lilies in his portfolio and present them to American museums. And that's how the adventure began. Then there was a first museum, and now there are five.

How did it happen? He had the theme, but what about the number of paintings, for example?

Well, it wasn't a commission at all, I'm sorry to say. It's just that the person, the tour organizer, saw this first painting and asked me what it was and what I wanted to do with it. I told him, “Well, I have this idea to do a series of ten large paintings on the theme of color, light, and Claude Monet's water lilies in Giverny,” and he said, “If you want, I'll propose them to museums.” And that's how it happened, very naturally, and I was the first to be surprised because the first museum said, “OK, it's going to happen, and we're going to organize the first exhibition north of New York,” and they judged it on the first painting. There weren't any others yet. Then I did the others, and little by little, other museums wanted to exhibit the Water Lilies of Light.

So, I had the chance to see the ones that have already been completed, at least in part, here with you this morning in your studio, once again on the outskirts of Figeac. These paintings will be leaving for the United States in November, but perhaps our listeners will be able to see them before they leave?

That's right, there will be an exhibition in Figeac, in the Balène room at the Palais Balène, at the end of November. It will be advertised, so your listeners who wish to do so can of course come and see the exhibition and meet me there. I will be able to explain my approach and everything that characterizes this project and this exhibition.

So, for those who may not have the time, the opportunity, or the courage to meet you, perhaps you could tell us a little about your artistic career and how you came to be so obsessed with color and light?

My career path is a little unusual, given that at the age of 17, I wanted to attend the Beaux Arts in Paris. My mother took me there and, unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know, since that's how life is, I was rejected on the basis of my administrative file, even though my portfolio had been accepted. Then, for 10 years, I didn't touch a pencil. Then, at the age of 27, I was given a box of oil paints with a small brush and a small canvas, and that's how the adventure began. I started painting and then I did a few paintings. I came to Figeac in the Lot region. I left my life in Paris and the job I had there to settle in the region I love. And then, for four years, I restored my house, did quite a few things, and continued to paint. And then, one day, I wanted to exhibit in an animal exhibition. It happened. I was thrilled. I said to myself, this is what I want to do, animal painting. So I searched the internet to find out what was out there and discovered the Society of Animal Artists, which was in New York at the time and brought together the world's leading animal artists. I said to myself, I'm going to give it a try. For four years, I worked on paintings, and after four years, I decided that I was good enough to try my luck, and I was accepted right away. Then there was my first exhibition, my first tour. And it just snowballed from there. I became a professional artist. That's how it happened, and in 2010, I was voted International Artist of the Year by the BBC. And then it just never stopped.

So, I think the constant in your paintings is light, because even when you depict animals, you always have this concern for backlighting, reflection, transparency, etc., and other adventures that you've shown me, that you're currently working on. So what is it about light that fascinates you?

What fascinates me about light is... how can I put it... the infinite possibilities, because what would the world and color be without light? So, of course, each painting is different; each painting can take on different shapes and colors depending on the light you give it, the intensity of the light. It's an interaction between daylight, the light in the painting, and the colors that can change and evolve over time. That's it, it's the infinite possibilities within a single subject.

Laurence Saunois, you remind me of someone: Pierre Soulages, who, in his black light, said much the same thing to me about the infinite colors that can be found in black.

I didn't know, but in any case, that's my research, that's my theme, that's what I'm trying to do... That's my quest, in fact, whether it's in water lilies or in other paintings. All the possibilities offered by light or the interplay with color or black, because black can also enhance light.

Allow me to ask you the central question of this ProForma program, which I have asked all the artists I have met, regardless of their background and medium: what is art for you?

It's about giving happiness, finding happiness in creating, offering happiness to people who look at art, who discover art, and I would also like art to be unifying: happiness and unity.

Thank you very much, Laurence Saunois, that will be the final word for this program. Thank you, and I feel a little bad for taking up a few minutes of your painting time, as I know you are very keen to finish this work for November and you still have some finishing touches to do on certain paintings and one work to complete.

It has been a great pleasure to welcome you to my studio, my garden, my home, and it has truly been a joy. I can conclude on that note.

Thank you, and we invite all our listeners to come between November 22 and 30. It's still a while away, but make a note in your calendars so you don't forget and don't miss it. It's an exhibition that will go down in history in Figeac.