My portfolio
Here, you'll find a collection of various styles of traditional art. I created these projects for my art classes, for contests or simply for fun. They were made between 2004 and 2009. You will also see the past layouts featured on this site, from 2008 to 2009. All of them were 100% made by me, using only my own material. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture.Past layouts
Colorful autumn
Version 1 (October-November 2008)
Inspiration: October 2008... The trees were beautifully colored outside and it was slowly getting colder, a little windy too, which inspired me for this autumnal design. I used earth colors, similar to the colors of the leaves, and a natural scrapbook style.
Break the ice
Version 2 (November-December 2008)
Inspiration: The trees lost all their leaves and it started snowing. To recreate this winter, icy feeling, I used a lot of white and light blue. Notice how the woman in her traditional outfit looks cold and unreachable, yet beautiful.
Happy Holidays!
Version 3 (Holidays 2008)
Inspiration: The Holidays are my favorite time of the year. It makes me so happy to decorate the Christmas tree and see my family I haven't seen a lot during the year! It's so comforting to know that I still have my children heart... I believe it's the little child in me who inspired me for this cute and colorful design.
Hey, Mr. DJ!
Version 4 (January-February 2009)
Inspiration: It's still winter, but spring is coming soon. I started adding brighter colors to my layout but the main color is still white. I was very busy with school at the time... I believe I unconsciously drew this DJ because I needed to relax and have some fun.
Cayman Islands
Version 5 (March-April-May 2009)
Inspiration: I created this layout after March break, when it was still winter in Canada. During that time, I went to Cayman Islands, an exotic and sunny destination. Ahhh, the beach, the ocean... It was a little hard to come back but I had a wonderful trip, so I made this design to remember it.
Lost in the jungle
Version 6 (May-June-July-August 2009)
Inspiration: This layout was up for a very long time... It took me ages to create it, because of all the details and the more complex coding. What did this layout represent? The title says it all... Confusion, trying to discover myself, an aprehension of the future with the end of high school... Notice in the layout how the leaves in the back are unclear, how it leaves to the imagination whether it's the way out or if it's just deeper in the forest.
Did I think about all of this when creating the layouts? Of course not. Well, unconsciously yes, but consciously, no. I needed to let time pass before looking back at these creations to understand what went through in my mind at the time and what really inspired me. If you're wondering why I'm not making celebrity layouts, other than the fact it's illegal, I'll tell you why. All of these layouts I made actually mean something to me. They're like a part of me, and I have the feeling that I can share a piece of me with you. When I'll look back at those designs in a couple of years, they will be like a memory of my teenagehood. I don't think I can get that feeling with a design featuring artificial shots of a celebrity I have never met...
Dress
To see pictures and more information about this project, click here.
Collage
Mosaic
Material: magazines
Explanation: I chose pictures from magazines that had an interesting texture, color or pattern to create this mosaic. About 300 squares compose this creation that is supposed to look both organized and messy.
Contests
School life
Material: colored pencils
Explanation: This drawing represents my vision of school life. I drew the backyard of the school, because there are a lot of activities and I really enjoyed eating there with my friends. It is also a sort of loop, since the girl on the left (which represents myself from behind) is paiting the scene, and I drew the scene including her, etc. I submitted this drawing for the agenda cover. I didn't win, but I was in the top six finalists.
School
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2
Explanation: This was my last chance to win the drawing contest of my high school. Unfortunately, I didn't win and didn't make it in the finalists. It's more modern, colorful and young than my previous entry for the contest. A couple of things you should know: "NDL" is the abbreviation of my school's name and I blurred out some personal information for obvious reasons.
Drawing
Abstract
Material: colored pencils
Explanation: I made a superposition of rectangles of different sizes to create an impression of deepness and complexity. The use of shading and various colors create the illusion of three dimensions.
Hummingbird
Material: HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B pencils
Explanation: I put the emphasis on how delicate a flower and a hummingbird are. You can see how I smoothened the lines and the patterns to create that effect. I used that drawing to create a layout with a subtil flowerish purple pattern.
Young woman
Material: HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B pencils
Explanation: The young woman is wearing a dress inspired by the dress I'm going to sew for my personal project at school. I used it for a layout questionning modeling (beautiful or plastic?). I transformed this drawing into a painting with Photoshop filters, to make it look a little bit more plastic, unreal.
Painting
Goddess
Material: acrylic paint
Explanation: The subject of the painting is Thalna, the goddess of childbirth. She's holding a baby in her arms, showing how careful she is and I wanted to represents how much she loves him. The birds in the back are holding bags with babies, like in Disney's movies. It creates a fantastic vision of life and birth.
Sculpture
Shoe
Material: clay, paint
Explanation: The objective of the project was to learn how to observe and recreate an object. We had to take a shoe of our choice, so I chose my sister's Nike sport shoes. After making the shape of the shoe in clay and letting it dry, I painted it and added more details.
Palmtree
Material: newspapers, styrofoam, paint, wire, paper, various objects
Explanation: This was a team project where we had to create a bonzai. We chose to do a palmtree on an island. We included elements of nature and humanity, to create a sort of contrast. There is no one on the island, but there are human objects... It encourages the one who is watching to imaginate a story behind the creation.
Others
Angelfish
Material: pastel, black paint
Explanation: Of all the projects I did in art class, this one is definitely my favorite! It features a fish that I really like: the angelfish. It is delicate and has a very interesting shape. I used various colors to create a very lively underwater world, with parts of other angelfish in the backgrounds. I did repetitive small patterns, long lines, spirals, etc. to create a seamless effect.
Parietal art
Material: stucco, paint, water
Explanation: We had to use stucco to create a texture on a paper, so I apply some on a paper. Then, I trace the shapes of prehistorical animals. After, I colored them by using paint and water. There is no second meaning to that painting, it simply represents how men were doing parietal art.
Puppet
Material: clay, newspapers, paint, wool, fabric, beads, wood stick
Explanation: I decided to represent an Indian woman, since their clothes are really interesting and I especially love the type of fabric that is used. The papier mache technique was used for the head and I sewed the dress. There's a wood stick inside and the arms can move, so it can be used as a puppet.