Pauline Di Valentin: Outside Looking In

Follow Pauline on IG: @p_di_v

Inspired by the architecture and landscape of Italy, French artist Pauline Di Valentin’s breathtaking ink drawings invite the viewer to explore opulent homes immersed in lush, overgrown vegetation. A sense of voyeurism is created as the viewer peers inside these lavish buildings, piecing together the scene unfolding before us. Pauline draws upon her Italian roots, moments from childhood, and old film stills to create these highly detailed and awe-inspiring works of art.

Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.

I started drawing very early. As a child, I wanted to be an illustrator or a comic book writer. My studies were decisive because I studied design, architecture and graphic design. I developed a taste for drawing objects and architecture. Then, I kept sketchbooks for a long time, drawing what inspired me, before starting to paint them. Some of them became recurrent elements in my paintings and allowed me to set up sceneries and tell stories in my own way. My artistic practice of drawing with ink started only a few years ago and I still never tire of this technique, because it allows me to achieve effects of textures and lights that correspond to the images I imagine: marbles, shadows in lattice, waters with their cloudy reflections.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I come from Amiens, a town in the north of France, but I have Italian origins and I go there very regularly. These origins have a big influence on my practice because they are places and atmospheres that inspire me a lot. I draw colors such as the pink of the facades, materials such as marble and Terrazzo, but also the vegetation with palm trees or orange trees.

The places I create are sometimes mixtures of scenes from old movies, other times places from my childhood. However I keep a common thread between all these inspirations: colors, objects, vegetation, architecture. The walls of my studio are also covered with paintings or photographs that I love and that inspire me. My sources of inspiration are very varied, they go from the pre-Raphaelite painting of Millet to the swimming pools of David Hockney, passing by the photographs of Fred Herzog and the Japanese print of Hasui Kawase. My color palette is very much inspired by the Italian renaissance painters. The pastel colors of Fra Angelico, the pale pink of Giotto's architecture and the intensity of Boticelli's vegetation.

How has your work shifted and evolved over time?

I have always tried to recreate atmospheres through colors and patterns of interior scenes where characters appear in moments of intimacy. The sketches of my notebooks have given way to drawings on larger and larger formats and with wider and wider frames where we can guess a silhouette, a presence through a window.
I like to recreate a "Rear window" (by Alfred Hitchcock), more precisely, I like to recreate this opportunity for the spectator to see in the distance a protagonist evolving in an intimate space where elements and objects become the clues of a possible scene. My architectures have then also had to adapt to the change of format and framing, becoming more complex, integrating into jungles, etc.
The larger the drawing becomes, the more elements the viewer has to observe to understand the scene and interpret what is happening. So all of my work was impacted by the change in format because the amount of detail increased as well.
The range of colors and the work of light has also evolved over time. There is this pale pink that remains a constant, but I work it differently depending on the period. At the moment, I like to combine it with ochres or warmer tones.

What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?

My work days in the studio are very different from each other. For example, I can spend entire days watching (or re-watching) films, looking for images, elements or objects, before starting to paint. This research and assembly phase can last for weeks. When I finally have the drawing in mind, I paint for hours and I don't see the time passing.
Today I like to take the time to immerse myself in very large formats and work on them for longer periods. My way of working evolved when the format changed. I had to install wire systems taped to the location of the different leakage points to work on my perspectives.
I am by nature impatient, but the large formats forced me to step back from the work in progress, take breaks and reflect, and then return to the drawing with a rested mind. They also taught me to enjoy lingering on every detail, from every leaf on a tree to the forgotten glass on the windowsill.

Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?

In my life, it is rather aesthetic shocks that made me evolve. Certain films have been the triggers of my desire to evoke stories in my drawings. Claude Chabrol's films, for example, where many plots take place in an eight-closed room, in a sometimes isolated house with inspiring architecture and interiors.
But it is also my excursions to Italy, where I have always been able to take advantage of these times to explore, observe, imagine, draw, that have given me the creative material. Indeed, the colors, the architecture and the vegetation also come to me from this country.

How has Instagram impacted your art career?

Instagram has allowed me to have the courage to show my work. It's very hard to show what you do, especially at the beginning. It's the positive feedback from people that pushed me to continue, to make things evolve and finally gain confidence. It also brought me visibility with other illustrators, galleries, events etc. Many instagram pages also propose to share works, broadcast calls for tender, etc... But, it is also a source of inspiration without limit. I record a lot of images, photographs of architecture, interiors, atmospheres or scenes that help me build my sets.

What are your future goals and aspirations?

As for my personal practice, I would like to continue to enlarge the size of my formats, to work them like frescos, to continue to evolve in my technique. Otherwise, I hope to be able to do exhibitions again soon, because it's nice to be able to take my drawings out of my studio, to discuss them with people who can then see them in their true format. I love it when people interpret my drawings or tell themselves stories when they see my paintings. And, I would really like to be able to exhibit abroad, which has unfortunately become complicated since the pandemic.

Victoria FryMay 27, 2021