Nothing to Nobody interview with illustrator Pierre-Paul Pariseau

And now for something completely different...

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ierre-Paul Pariseau is the eldest of three brothers and the son of a Jeweller. Growing up in Montral, Canada, Pierre-Paul’s father found a love of painting after he retired, and obviosuly these creative genes have found their way into Pierre-Paul’s blood. After studying computer science for two years, the dormant creative gene then sprung to life and Pierre-Paul took up illustration. His

www.nothingtonobody.com

Words: Jo Jette

deft collage style works are reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s wonderful Monty Python animations and opening credits, though Pierre-Paul has clearly found his own creative path.

How did your style develop and how do you create your artworks?

I started many years ago by simply using scissors, glue and magazines. Then came

the computer, but that didn’t change my style so much at first. Since 2005, after a few years of research and experimentation, I have started creating with this ‘new’ style, resulting in much more freedom to express myself... Many times (but not always), at the end, the best pictures are the ones that were imagined all along the process, not having in mind a clear idea at the beginning.

Have you seen The Beatles Yellow Submarine or Monty Python? Did these have an influence on your art?

Yes, I have seen Yellow submarine and some of the episodes of the Monty Phyton on television. I have seen some of their films also. I may have been influenced by these films and television shows, but at the beginning of my career I was mainly

influenced by surreal artists like Dali, Magritte, John Heartfield... Now I am inspired by everything in life. It can really be anything as I am very curious and try to keep an open mind wherever I go.

Is your art mainly created digitally – or is their a very hands on component?

My work is a blend of collage, watercolour, acrylic paint and pen transformed, enhanced and coloured in Photoshop.

I like to put textures, gradients and a sense of touch into my illustrations. I have recently acquired a Wacom tablet. I am gaining experiencing with it now and would like to use it more to colour my images.

How would your personal work Page 59

differ from your commercial/ commissioned work?

Personal work is as important as professional work. There are different qualities in both kinds of work. The personal projects are very important, because with them you can let yourself delve completely into the depths of your imagination. You can be as "crazy" as you want, to surprise yourself as you never did before. My personal work does not always have a clear meaning, it allows a wide space for interpretation. Being totally free it is more easy to experiment with different techniques and to come out of this with interesting discoveries that you can use in commissioned works later.

The constraints (subjects, sizes, delays, etc.) brought by commissioned work can be an important challenge for the spirit. These experiences bring the artist into areas of discomfort that could be, in the end, very exhilarating. Again, you discover part of your imagination that you would probably have not otherwise. Both kinds of artworks, the personal and the commissioned feed each other.

Can you tell us about the wall art you have done – what do you like about working with such a huge canvas?

This section of my site is fairly new and was done to simply to inspire, to entice potential clients to commission me to do murals. Artists would have to be hired to paint the murals then. In fact my art is not on any walls now. I believe that my images could be great murals, and also be used on billboards (advertising). I wanted to suggest this possibility.

Can you tell us about your book – how long did it take to pull together – and why did you decide to put it on Blurb?

The book took a long time to put together, about five months, but not working on it www.nothingtonobody.com

full-time, of course. It is a wonderful way to gather my best work of past years. It is also a great promotional tool. I have been sending it to some people well placed in the world of illustration to make myself known better to these people. It has helped me, and I got nice feedback. I am currently revising it, adding more images, interviews and information about my artwork. The new edition should be ready sometime in 2011. Blurb provides very good, easy to use software to create books, and the quality of the print is excellent.

When you’re not creating amazing art work – where can we find you and what are you doing?

I love to read, to discover new places in the great city I’m living in, to watch movies from all over the world, meet friends, take photos, travel. http://pierrepaulpariseau.com