If I’m ever asked who my favourite artist is, I think I’ve always had the bad habit of saying the name of someone else’s favourite artist, or a buzzing artist I was supposed to like or know about. But recently, I discovered some art I really, really like. Jules de Balincourt’s paintings make me think of several things, such as; what if Wes Anderson had been a painter? Or, what if “Where’s Wally” had been done in watercolour?
Sophisticated thoughts, I know. Clearly I missed my calling as an art critic.
The colours and scenery also bring me back to a book by the French illustrator Kiraz, which my Aunt gave me as a child, and I tried to trace over in my scrapbook. Jules’ work has the aesthetic of someone who has traveled and lived like a true bohemian, who sees pictures in moments and takes a snapshot with their eyes and keeps it forever, but then the picture becomes a little dreamier each time they think back to it.
Jules had a unconventional upbringing in quasi-hippy communes of Southern California in the late 1970s, and spent summers surfing with his French family in Cap Ferret. I know this because I met his cousin this weekend in Paris, who also happens to be the founder of G.Kero– remember, that Fashion Brand the Cool Kids would Rather Keep a Secret. You’ll notice a family ressemblance in the art on Jules’ canvases and G.Kero’s shirts.
This is actually a painting of the family’s land in Cap Ferret ↓
Jules really doesn’t need my help in showing the world his paintings; he’s already been in the big galleries and had some impressive solo exhibitions. I just thought I’d share in case someone else might be looking for a new favourite artist…
Discover the work of Jules de Balincourt.
