Nicole Le Gall

For me, it all started with my childhood amazement at theatre sets so realistic and trompe l'oeil paintings so intriguing that I couldn't take my eyes off them. So it was possible to astonish, arouse curiosity and make people want to look, with just juxtapositions and superimpositions of colours on a flat surface! A long road then opened up before me, where the joy of manipulating pencils and brushes was mingled with the pleasure of feeling the intoxicating smell of oil paint.

After training in academic drawing and painting techniques, I continue to take part regularly in masterclasses with contemporary artists, because it's a wonderful opportunity to share a journey with men and women whose work I admire. Painting still lifes in front of my subject is a moment of full awareness, a way of being in the moment, and my paintings are a response to the pleasure of looking, because I like to paint what I see.