ALTERED STATES THROUGH PAINTING!
“My personal search is profoundly linked to colour” says DORIS SAVARD. “Rich, vibrant and pure, my palette is particularly fauve. Even though I am constantly concerned with composition and harmony, spontaneity, sensuality and passion are emotions which are omnipresent in my paintings. I paint from within which allows me to fully express my own true colours.”
DORIS SAVARD, welcome and thank you for sharing with us today. Let us begin:
No. 1) What is art for you? What is painting or visual art for you?
Painting for me is a passion, art in all its forms is essentially a thing without which my life would be boring and dull. Just imagine a world without music, without painting, without cinema, without writing …… a world in which I would not want to live.
No. 2) What inspires you?
Everything inspires me! Color, a form, a word from a song. I can be walking down the street, suddenly I see a reflection of light in a puddle of water and see a picture. Paper, sometimes for the graphic quality,
sometimes the texture inspires me very often, which is why there’s almost always a collage in my paintings. And also music, I always listen to music when I paint.
No. 3) When you are painting, where does it take you? Where does your mind travel?
Painting for me is like a meditation. I establish a dialogue with the canvas, I make a first stoke and the canvas tells me the next. This dialogue is in turn frightening, exciting, soothing. And I become so focused that nothing else exists apart this painting which I talk to. If I had an idea of what I wanted to do at the beginning and that the canvas brings me elsewhere I cannot resist. If I do resist, then I ruin everything. It requires courage and a great confidence in myself to be able to abandon myself this way, a state of mind that I do not always feel but still …. These are the ups and downs of the life of an artist.
No. 4) Do you feel that visual art, music and health are related and if so, how do you see this?
Well for me it is definitely related as I said before I always listen to music when I paint and I get a lot of my inspiration from it. I often compose my 
painting as if I was composing a song: its gotta have a chorus, its gotta have rythm etc. And for me listening to music and painting is healthy because I use them to express myself, my own true colors. If I am mad, if I am happy these emotions will come out in my work, so its therapeutic. Also the meditation state that I get into sometimes for hours is very good for my health it helps me forget about problems, worries and often helps me put things in perspective. So art brings balance into my life and if I don’t have it I get completely out of balance and that leads to frustration and sickness. Art is absolutely vital to me.
No. 5) How do you feel when you are painting, creating?
All kinds of feelings, at the beginning I feel anxious and a bit stressed until I find my direction and then I am concentrated and focused and at the end if it came out good, I feel joy and happiness if not, frustration.
No. 6) Do you identify with your subjects? And if so, on what level?
I guess I could say yes because I really paint from within so my paintings are surely a part of me. Though I hate to analyse them, that’s why it’s such a mission for me to give them titles. My boyfriend often does it for me.
I like to use the right side of my brain when I paint so I try to think as less as possible. I make spontaneous decisions as for choice of colors and brush strokes etc. For example I have all my paint colors in front of me and I reach for the one that attracts me the most without thinking about whether it goes well or not with the others already there, I trust my instinct as much as possible. Only at the end do I make the left side of my brain intervene, so only then do I allow myself to think about harmony and composition.
No. 7) When do you do your best work (environment, time, place etc).
I do my best work when I am able to get to that state of meditation, when I can shut my left side of the brain completely off so that I can be fully connected with that creative part of me. I can better get to that state when I am at my studio with good music and when I am well rested. And once I am there it doesn’t really matter what is happening around me, I created one of my best painting with my sister and friends at my studio talking loud and having a good time.
No. 8) Does painting help you connect with your higher self, whatever that might be for you?
I think so, my higher self is when I feel connected to God or a part of the universe. I am not always in that state of mind (I wish I could) but when I am, I feel greater love for people so it helps me to not be judgemental and to look at life’s little problems with perspective. Painting, yoga, a walk in nature brings meditation and meditation calms me which helps me connect with my higher self.
No. 9) What led you to abstract painting and what is abstract for you?
Abstract painting came naturally, what I really like is color so flowers were for me a pretext for color and so, like I said before, I don’t like to think too much when I paint and I guess little by little I came to a point where I didn’t need that pretext so often. I still do flowers and sometimes landscapes as well but when my inner self brings me to abstract I don’t resist neither do I resist other subjects. I don’t know who’s the boss but it’s certainly not me! (lol) Or at least not the rational side of me.
Doris Savard, merci, thank you for accepting this invitation. Your art is wonderful and has the same spark as one sees in your eyes. Until the next time, keep well!
To see more of her art, please visit the following link:
TO THE READER
What do you relate to most when you look at Doris’ work?
We sincerely appreciate your comments. If you’d like to be informed of any changes in the future, please leave your e-mail address as well, thank you. ENJOY!
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Comments
Hello Doris from South of France !
To discover your Art , it’s a real pleasure for the eyes !
Like a lot !
Take care
Daniel
C’est vibrant et tellement passionné. Vos couleurs éclatent et envahissent de force brute.
Bonjour Doris,
Tu as tout à fait raison: sans les arts, la vie ne serait pas aussi intéressante. Cette capacité de créer est ce qui nous distingue de l’amibe, ce qui permet de prétendre à la civilisation, ce qui nous permet d’espérer trouver un sens à cette existence.
Ton travail est magnifique et te ressemble en somme. Tu fait partie de ceux et de celles qui construisent un monde meilleur.
En attendant d’avoir le plaisir de te revoir en personne, va me saluer à “Intangible essence of dreams” sur ce même site.
You color my world.
Bisous
Marc Lemieux
Allo Charmante Demoiselle
Tu es toujours egale a toi meme dans tes propos ainsi que dans ta vision de vouloir un jour un monde nouveau ou ils n’y auraient plus de misere et plein d’Amour.
Ne change pas et garde espoir.
D’un admirateur
Dan xxx
Enjoyed your interview particularly the freedom you express in your words and paintings. Love the richness of color and rhythm that brings them to life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and work. Cecelia
.-= Cecelia Gay´s last blog ..Sometimes Lovers, Sometimes Friends =-.
Well I am happy you liked the interview and thank you for your nices compliments.
Doris
I totally agree when you say that painting is a passion first. It can’t be just a job or a hobby, it has to actually mean something for yourself. Keep sharing, I’ll start following you
Hi there, the whole thing is going nicely here
and ofcourse every one is sharing data, that’s really good, keep up
writing.
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