An Artist in OKC, MC. Lafayette

Lafayette ou la renaissance d’une première passion (Lafayette or the rebirth of a first passion)

A 5 ans, MC. Lafayette découvre le dessin et les couleurs. Un anniversaire, des blocs de papier et des boites de crayon de couleurs et tous les loisirs passeront dans le dessin, la mise en scène, la mise en couleurs, … Des couleurs brillantes, joyeuses et des formes pleine de mouvements. (At 5 years old, MC. Lafayette discovered drawing and colors. A birthday of sheets of paper and boxes of colorful pencils and all the fun of drawing, perspective,and coloring … Brilliant and joyful colors with shapes full of movement.)

A l’école, pendant 6 ans, tous les grands prix de dessin lui seront attribues. Pourtant une année, il lui faut faire un choix : l’instituteur lui demande de choisir entre le prix de dessin et le prix de français ! Il faut un prix pour chaque élève. Il choisit le prix de dessin … au grand dam de ses parents! (At school, for six years, all the grand prizes of drawing were given to him. Yet a year, he must make a choice: the teacher asks him to choose between award for drawing or the award for French! There is an award for each student. He chose the drawing award … to the great displeasure of his parents!) Et la vie continue … (And life goes on …)

Quel bonheur : toutes ses couleurs, toutes ses formes sur une page qui n’est déjà plus blanche ! Et toujours le sourire aux lèvres quand il caresse la feuille qui va accueillir ses petites folies ! (What happiness: all the colors, all the forms on a page that is no longer white! And always the smile on his lips when he drew on the paper that held his silly little creations!)

Ses professeurs l’encouragent , le poussent, … lui parle d’une école de dessin ! Quoi ? Le dessin, ça s’apprend ! Et on peut en vivre ? Génial ! Refus catégorique des parents ! Ce n’est pas un métier ! Alors, la vie continue … mais il y aura moins de dessins, moins de couleurs ! (His teachers encouraged him, pushed him, … spoke to him of a school of drawing! What? Drawing is learned! And can we live? Awesome ! Categorical refusal of parents! It’s not a job! So life goes on … but there will be fewer drawings, fewer colors!)

Les études continuent et toutes les options d’arts visuels seront ses choix. Au fil du temps, il accumulera six années d’apprentissage d’art et trois années d’histoire de l’art, … mais les études classiques continuent, un job classique, une carrière … et le dessin et les couleurs qui refont surface de temps en temps … mais MC.Lafayette n’a pas le temps !  (The studies continue and all visual arts options will be his choices. Over time, he will accumulate six years of art learning and three years of art history … but everyday studies continued, an everyday job, a career … but there was still drawing and colors which he indulged in from time to time … but for the most part MC.Lafayette did not have time!)  Et la vie continue … (And life goes on …)

Les années passent … et puis un jour, l’horizon s’éclaircit : moins d’obligations, plus de temps libre, … et si on faisait revivre ce premier amour, cette première passion ? On ressort une grosse boite pleine de tout le matériel d’artiste visuel qui ne l’a jamais quitte. Les premières esquisses sont hésitantes. Mais le plaisir est toujours la … face a la surface blanche, le sourire revient ! (Years passed … and then one day, the horizon cleared up: less obligations, more free time … and if we revived this first love, this first passion? There is a large box full of all the visual artist’s material that never left him. The first sketches are hesitant. But the pleasure is always there … face to the white surface, the smile returns!)

Comme si une porte fermée trop longtemps venait de s’ouvrir. Les idée’s arrivent en flots continus. A cote des feuilles de Bristol, il y a des carnets de notes pour noter toutes les idées … et il y en a beaucoup ! (As if a closed door too long had just opened. Ideas arrive in continuous flows. Beside the leaves of Bristol, there are notebooks to note all the ideas … and there are many!)

The sketches, the drawings accumulate … the colors arrive. For MC.Lafayette everything must be in harmony. And many projects will end up in the trash. But when a project seems to be good, everything is implemented. With one slogan: the harmony of shapes and colors. (Les croquis, les dessins s’accumulent … les couleurs arrivent. Pour MC.Lafayette tout doit être en harmonie. Et beaucoup de projets finiront a la poubelle. Mais quand un projet semble être bon, tout est mis en oeuvre. Avec un seul mot d’ordre : l’harmonie des formes et des couleurs.)

Aujourd’hui, on pourrait définir l’art visuel de MC.Lafayette comme un croisement entre le fauvisme ( pour la couleur ), le cubisme ( pour la géométrie et la symétrie des formes ), le futurisme ( pour le mouvement) et le symbolisme ( pour les multitudes de messages caches dans ses peintures ) [Today, MC.Lafayette’s visual art could be defined as a cross between fauvism (for color), cubism (for geometry and symmetry of forms), futurism (for movement)And symbolism (for the multitude of messages hidden in his paintings)]

Et la vie continue … mais plus brillante !  [And life goes on … but more brilliant!]

 

Italian Village (The Sunset)

The first painting of the renaissance of passion.
Many trials in harmony of forms: this pretty Italian village left my imagination and my memory so delights me that I decide to make several versions (from noon to midnight)

 

Abstract Tribute

I always love abstract art and its precursors. Very quickly, after the Italian village, I designed an abstract project consisting of 15 panels that would be a tribute to the great masters of the abstract. This tribute tries to bring together the different formal harmonies in several movements through the parts of the ensemble. No lyrical abstraction.  For now, only the central part exists (the triptych) in illustration. These three panels come in 6 different colors.

 

The Dreams of Horta

Out of my childhood memories: Victor Horta. Famous Belgian architect, co-founder of the art nouveau, which had its hour of glory at the beginning of the 20th century. He had imagined the soft shapes of a new architecture, but also the interior decoration of the houses whose plans he drew. Horta was the first to consider architecture as a global art. Unfortunately, because of a wild urbanization in Paris and Brussels, most of his works were destroyed. So I imagined the interior of a house in which he would have liked to live. The overall project will be 3 panels. Two have been completed.
Another similar project will soon emerge: this painting will encompass all the trends of the new art.

 

A Sunset

I applied for several weeks on the first 3 projects. My wife asks me if I would be able to make a beautiful picture … quickly. Here is the result: an imaginary sunset. Success is also there.

 

Fire in the Ocean

This painting comes directly from the painting: “A Sunset”.
After painting the reflection of the sun in the water, I imagine the fire in the water! A submarine volcano (yes, that exists) giving to the sea all the colors of the blue to the red. Waves and colors in harmony.
But perhaps the whole story is invented and the painting is just another abstract painting.

 

Golden Brown

After some simple paintings, I approach a new ambitious big project: “Golden Brown” (a polyptic 4). “Golden Brown” will be a celebration of the sun and gold. The central part is the sun one quarter of which is on each panel. Then each painting evolves independently, but remaining in harmony (shapes and colors) with the rest of the painting. Total work: 200 hours!

 

Van Gogh Night in Paris

The project is ambitious and is far from over! It is an immense fresco on Paris which will contain in the end about twenty different panels. This first diptych represents Notre Dame de Paris seen from the Seine.

 

Three women (Welcome)

In the revival of my first passion, I had not yet performed figurative painting. So this is the first test. This painting was very well received. The three panels of “Three Women” were finished with gold and silver paint. (Just like the reproductions)

Lafayette links:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mclafayette/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mc_lafayette/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MCLafayette

 

Novelty Street

I had a dream last night where I’m walking down the street in some quaint village. The street is paved with reddish cobble stones, and the building are made out of stones of different earth tones. Overhead the sky is blue with a few soft wispy white clouds floating gently up above. On one street, I notice a shop with the sign “Novelties” over the doorway. The sign on the doors says “Closed, by appointment only”, but I feel like I am looking for something new and exciting, so I turn the handle and the door opens, so I go in. It’s absolutely intriguing inside. There is a delightful energy that fills the shop, making my skin feel tingly.

There is no one in the shop, so I start looking around. The shop is filled with unique objects that spark my imagination. The indications of creativity, personality, and warmth are all over the inside of the shop. I can see that this is an artist’s domain. There are all sorts of paintings and drawings covering the walls. I gaze at one painting of roses. It is so natural, colorful, and lifelike. On the coffee table, there is a full color picture book with the title ‘Natural Sensation’. Every page has pictures of skillfully rendered paintings and drawings. There were flowers and nature scenes, and drawings of houses in the countryside. You can see that the author of this work is clearly a person with great passion for life, and truly loves to do this kind of inspired endeavor. I find myself enchanted with this place. My eyes notice a walking stick. I pick it up and discover that there is a sword inside. I am looking at this object when a woman comes in to the room through a back doorway. I can feel that it is her shop by her demeanor. I observe her with my peripheral vision as she approaches me from the side, but I don’t turn, figuring that it’s her territory so she needs to make the first move. She says, “Hello, can I help you?” I reply, “I know I shouldn’t have come in, and I know that I didn’t ask for an appointment, but your shop just looks so inviting that I was compelled to enter.”

She does not get upset with me, instead she says, “I’ll tell you what. I don’t have a lot of time today, but let me fix you a cup of coffee and show you around.” She gives me the coffee and shows me around her place. She makes me feel so comfortable. I am truly touched by her talent and her passion for her art. Then she says, “I have to get to the gym. Here’s my number. Take all the time you want, and when you’re ready, please give me a call.” I woke up from the dream thinking how fascinating she was. Such is the substance of the world of dreams.