Annie Duguay: Turning Secrets into Portraits
Annie Duguay is a contemporary painter from Quebec creating spontaneous watercolor paintings inspired by fashion, music, nature, books, and people. Duguay’s stunning portraits express the emotions and personal experiences of her subjects in a style reminiscent of fashion illustration.
How did your creative journey begin?
It's hard for me to trace back exactly when my love for drawing began because I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I had a deep passion for drawing and painting. My father worked at a paper plant, and he would bring back huge rolls of paper. He would hang them on the lower part of the walls in the basement, and I would cover them up with my drawings. Despite having other toys and things to play with, I always found myself going back to drawing. To this day, whenever I have the chance, I draw. At restaurants, when I watch TV or speak on the phone, in class or before a show. Sometimes, I'll even make a quick sketch during the show. I prefer drawing over taking a picture. It changes the way you look at things. I draw many little faces, people, clothes and hands. I draw a lot of eyes. At some point, I'll take something I've drawn and transfer it into a bigger painting.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Fashion is a significant source of inspiration for me. I enjoy looking at magazines, editorials, and fashion shows. Music is another source of inspiration. Sometimes, the lyrics of a song evoke something that I want to paint, and the music itself can inspire me. When I listen to music, I often see a lot of colors, and certain songs help me envision a color palette or composition. This is something I want to explore more in the future. Sometimes, I find inspiration in nature as well. I love rocks and the wide range of colors and texture they offer. Books that I read, podcasts that I listen to, and the people I meet all inspire me. The stories that people share with me often leave a lasting impression. Currently, for my most abstract pieces, I find a lot of inspiration in the I Ching which is a very old Chinese text. The hexagrams set my compositions and I choose colors and design to best express the oracle associated with the hexagram in the I Ching.
How has your work evolved over the last few years?
I started drawing at a very early age. When I was eight or nine, my grandmother taught me how to work with oils, which made me feel very grown-up. I enjoyed it, but found it a bit complicated. So, I went back to drawing because it was portable and quick. I went back and forth with oils and acrylics for about twenty years. It wasn't until 2013 that I discovered my current medium, which is watercolor. Motherhood played a role in this discovery, as I started painting with my daughter and realized how much I enjoyed working with watercolor. I like its portability and versatility. It’s also practical, fast to set up and clean. I enjoy seeing the pigments float and arrange themselves in the water before settling on the paper. I find it fascinating to see how different pigments interact with each other. I also combine watercolor with pencils because I enjoy drawing. I have two sets of pencils, one of which is water-soluble, so I can use it for sketching directly on the paper. Then, I build up the watercolors on top, once it’s dry I use my regular pencils to add details and texture to the watercolor. I began to pay more attention to the background of my portraits. In recent years, I have shifted from solely painting portraits to working with abstracts. This change was inspired by the lack of human interaction during the pandemic. Abstract art is still new to me and feels a bit strange, but I am growing to like it more and more. It has a deep impact on people, and I enjoy discussing my abstract pieces with others.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I don't paint full time, so I have to find time to work on my art in small chunks. Often, I combine art-making with doing the laundry. My studio is near the laundry room, so I go downstairs with a bunch of laundry, put it in the machine, and start working on something. It could be a portrait or an abstract. After doing a first pass of color, I need to let it dry, so I leave everything in the studio and go live my life. At some point, I need to put the clothes in the dryer, and stop by the studio. If I have time, I sit down again and do another layer. If I have something else to do, I think about what I want to do when I come back. Sometimes not being able to work on my art creates a certain tension. It's interesting because in my head, little ideas start to roll. I wonder if I should use different colors or I'll see something that inspires me and change my plan. For example, I might see a fruit at the grocery store and think about using a similar color in my painting. I might see two colors side by side in a shop or on the road. Anything can spark my creativity. When I go back to my painting, I do another layer of colors. I often work on more than one piece at a time. They are on different tables, and I jump from one to the other while one is drying. I like to start my paintings on an easel, with the paper upright. This creates a lot of drippings and energy in the painting. I alternate between laying down colors while the paper is flat and doing upright passes. A big shift happen when I began to to keep track of my experiences and preferences in a little book called "experiences" where I record colors that I try together. When I buy a new color, I will «introduce» it to the existing palette. For me, a palette is like a great dinner party, where you know everybody and how they react together. Inviting new guests is always exciting, but you never know what kind of ambiance it’s going to create! I have a section where I compare the different blacks that I have. Like a catalogue, I refer to this page to figure out which ones I want to work with. I have pages with ink experiments, test different brushes, using the thinnest and widest lines I can create. This experimentation is a precious part of my practice that allows me to be less scared of trying new things. I keep all the pieces that I'm not satisfied with in a separate drawer, and will use them to test color combinations, so nothing gets lost. This way of working is gentle and empathetic towards myself and my work. Watercolor is a great teacher for me. I’ve learned to change plans, and make the most of what is. To literally go with the flow and trust the water.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
I love that question! I actually keep a list of these experiences on my computer, and it was really fun to revisit them. When I was very young, I really enjoyed watching people create art on TV, like Mr. Dressup drawing. In Québec, we had a master at paper sculpture, Mr Claude Lafortune, using scissors and colored paper he created amazing caracters. Additionally, sometimes I would catch Bob Ross on TV. He could create a whole world in just 30 minutes with a paintbrush. It amazed me and I really enjoyed watching him paint. Of course, when my grandmother started painting, I was fascinated by her ability to create something out of nothing on a canvas. As a little girl, I also loved watching Jem and the Holograms, a cartoon about a girl band. The main character had an amazing machine called Synergy that could create holograms of anything she needed. One member of the band, Shana, could draw clothes and scan them into the machine, and the clothing would appear on the girls. I wanted that machine so badly, and the idea of drawing what you would like to have or wish for is something that I still do. As I grew older, music videos became very inspiring to me. They were full of creativity, colors, and fashion. I particularly loved French bands like Les Rita Mitsouko and Niagara. I also found Tori Amos' work and poetry very inspiring. Her album "Little Earthquakes" is still a favorite of mine. When I studied graphic design, I was exposed to a lot of images and art history, which further fueled my inspiration. I was also inspired by the work of Tamara Lempicka, a female painter. I had the opportunity to see exhibitions of designers like Alexander McQueen and Jean-Paul Gaultier, which were visually stunning. I also found makeup artistry very inspiring. I love the work of Ole Aakjaer, his immense ink and watercolor portraits with their vibrant colors and intricate details. The drawings of artists like Zilon and Enki Bilal also captivate me. One of the most powerful artistic experiences I had was when I visited "Sleep No More" in New York. It's an immersive theater experience that completely transports you to another world. It was fascinating, disturbing, and beautiful. I still think about it often and plan to go again next time I'm in New York. It's always a learning experience for me, as I see how I've grown since the last visit.
How has social media impacted your work?
When I was younger, I used to open the dictionary to check the spelling of a word, but then I would end up exploring other words or paintings that I wasn't familiar with, and I would get lost in these new ideas. An hour later, I would realize that I still hadn't found the correct spelling for the original word I was searching for… and then, the Internet came along! Can you image my relationship with the Internet! I have to set clear boundaries with social media. It's a fantastic way to showcase our work and connect with people we wouldn’t know otherwise. I had my first sales thanks to social media, for that I’m a grateful, but I'm not a fan of playing the algorithm game, where you have to post every day or follow trends. I also don't enjoy seeing the same idea being repeated multiple times by different people. It’s crazy the amount of time artists put in their craft. We don’t have an impactful thing to say everyday. And I don’t have time to engage with content, even when it’s good, on a daily basis. That's why I'm starting a newsletter, as I believe it will provide an alternative way to engage with my audience. I prefer sharing more about myself and my work with those who have specifically subscribed to my newsletter, rather than with just anyone on the Internet. It’s a place where I think I will feel more confortable to be vulnerable. I think it's important to use these platforms mindfully, treating them as tools like any other. We need to be conscious of how we use them, as their nature can evolve over time. Sometimes, it feels like I'm attempting to recreate an experience that no longer exists. Nowadays, I have many thoughts on this topic.
How do you choose the subjects for your paintings?
When choosing subjects for my paintings, it depends on whether it's an abstract or a portrait. For abstract paintings, I am currently working on a series based on the I Ching. I often use an app on my phone to cast the I Ching and read the oracle. After contemplating it for a while, I begin to build the composition and work with colors to express the essence of the I Ching oracle. On the other hand, when working on portraits, my inspiration often comes from emotions or stories that resonate with me. People often share very personal experiences with me, which can be touching, beautiful, or even sad and disturbing. Sometimes, I wish I could make a difference in their lives, and I channel those emotions and experiences into my paintings. I may create a persona that represents what they need or express a particular emotion or personality trait that I find intriguing. Additionally, I can find inspiration from observing people in everyday life. For example, I might notice someone with interesting facial features on the bus and incorporate those features into a painting. Overall, each painting is like a little story, capturing emotions or experiences that resonate with me. I like to say that I turn secrets into portraits.
Website: https://www.annieduguay.com/
Instagram: @annie.duguay.art