Portraits

Pencil, oil or pastel portrait was actually my first pictorial passion. It requires precision and concentration to really identify the personality of the subject.

To Make A Portrait Of A Bird

First paint a cage

With an open door

Then paint Sylvaine Le Querrec oiseau

Something nice

Something simple

Something beautiful

Something useful

For the bird

Then place the canvas against a tree

In a garden

in a wood

Or in a forest

Hide behind the tree

Without saying anything

Without moving ...

Sometimes the bird comes quickly

But he can also take long years

Before deciding

Do not be discouraged

Expect

Wait if necessary for years

The speed or slowness of the arrival of the bird

Unrelated

With the success of the canvas

When the bird arrives

If it happens

Observe the deepest silence

Wait until the bird enters the cage

And when it entered

Gently close the door with the brush

Then

Delete one by one the bars

Taking care not to touch any of the bird's feathers

Then make the tree portrait

By choosing the most beautiful of its branches

For the bird

Also paint the green foliage and the cool wind

Dust of the sun

And the sound of the beasts of the grass in the summer heat

And then wait for the bird to decide to sing

If the bird does not sing

This is a bad sign

Sign that the picture is bad

But if he sings a good sign

Sign that you can sign

Then you pluck very slowly

One of the bird's feathers

And write your name in a corner of the canvas.

Jacques Prévert