Véronique Baleste

Born in the Bassin d'Arcachon in 1969, I am a self-taught painter. After studying sociology, I embarked on a career as a teacher. After 27 years of teaching, the need was felt to fully assume my artistic part.

For 14 years, I have been exploring the acrylic medium in search of various techniques such as those borrowed from Street Art: stencil, aerosols or acrylic markers. I seek to express who I am, what life teaches me, always looking for the next canvas that will transform my daily feelings into a work of art. It is therefore important for me to awaken a feeling, an emotion. I aspire for my paintings to be the instruments of an exchange and for each work to be offered not just as an image but as the meaning it carries.

My paintings are figurative. I paint essentially and viscerally the human. I produce large formats on canvas, canvas board or wood. I add collages, mixed techniques such as oil or dry pastels, aerosols, stencils.

The writing is very present. At first it was on the pages of books stuck in the background, then in the form of quotes and finally the writing took the front of the canvas. This writing/painting duality is me: it is freedom that I have chosen to affirm. This is why my approach and my creations evolve as my style asserts itself. It is to be hoped that those who have decided to enter my pictorial world open their hands wide to share this universe with me.

When inspiration comes, I search, I read, I study my subject, I mentally compose the project before I even start. However, I accept what sometimes happens during the production, often pleasantly surprises me and requires me to adapt. Whatever the project, I approach it with absolute enthusiasm and generosity.