Delphine Bernard
The freedom to creat and to reveal oneself...
An abstract expressionist painter in the tradition of Georges Mathieu, Delphine is creating a style of her own, balancing between art and spirituality, between such traditional arts as calligraphy and more explorative techniques like action painting and free expressionism. She exclusively uses painting knives, and usually works in acrylic paint, the brightness and quick-drying quality of which is perfectly suited to her technique.
Along the years, two distinctive styles have emerged in her work:
• tense, energetic artworks, exploding with colors and emotions; and
• gentle, contemplative paintings that convey feelings of balance, peace and harmony.
The first influence captures the raw power of creativity, which is left to express itself fully, totally, without constraint or boundary. Through her painting, the primitive forces of nature and its sheer brutal energy are unleashed, evoking the primordial theme of The Battle – the battle of the elements, the battles and wars that divide and shape humanity.
The second influence, expressed through a technique and philosophy close in spirit to oriental calligraphy, sees these same energies mastered and sublimed into peaceful visions of balance and harmony. The sharp painting knives give birth to delicate details in round fantasies expressing the other fundamental need of humanity – the Quest for Love
Whether it is peaceful visions or energetic battles that emerge on the canvas, the philosophy is the same. Delphine believes that the artistic power should be channelled back to the body through a shamanistic process; painting for her is a fusion of nature and the artist's most inner self. This belief requires that the artist paint in a trance-like mode, swiftly and without conscious thought.
At the beginning, the mind is as blank as the canvas. But, then the hands begin their dance, the heart chooses its colours, the emotions their expression...
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And a more personnal touch....
My discovery of the work and philosophy of french abstract painter Georges Mathieu remains the bed rock of my work even though I now travel the great junge of colors and forms on my own path...
I still stick to his vision of art as an expression of a greater inner self inside of us and do believe as he did in velocity as the better acces to the source of our talent.
My key-word is transe: I don't think while I paint, I just let my hands dance on the canvass and choose the colors they need...The first take is always the best, no second thought, beauty comes out directly or never. That's why I particurlarly enjoy acrylic colors which dry as quickly as i work....
Best part of the job is waking up in the morning and watching what came out the day before: looking at the paintings and discovering here and there visages,sceneries and stories on the canvas -stories I would never have imagined myself, directly imported from my subconscient...Some of them are quite pleasurable, some quite terrifying, depending on the mood.
The works exposed here are the most demanding ones, on my part because they demand great energy -physical and psychological engagement-and on your part because they are crowded with details and it takes time to appreciate them...but you never get bored of them, always discovering new stories....
I hope you'll get as much delight from them as I do!
PS: the softer, more decorative works can be looked at on my pseudo gallery A.DEL Fine, at del-fine
