Jean-Luc Beltrami

• Biography
• Gallery
• Guest book
• Contact
• Catalog

Jean-Luc Beltrami, 73 years old, born in Paris 10th, not far from the Saint Martin canal.

As far back as I can remember, I have always loved painting and enjoyed drawing and painting sessions at school, whether in nursery, primary and even secondary school.
I was lucky enough to meet teachers who held real drawing-painting sessions and who organized museum visits or outdoor sketching sessions before drawing on large sheets of paper.
In the early 1970s, I had a period of pencil and charcoal drawing, especially A3 formats, shadows and lights. During this period, I gave up gouache and did not dare to approach oil, too expensive for my limited means at the time and also impressive.
It was at this time that I let myself get carried away and discovered free workshops in Paris. For a modest sum per year, one could indulge in still life representations. One chose one's subject among those installed, one placed one's easel and one drew, at the end of the session one covered everything with a cloth and one found everything the next session.
In this workshop, I also discovered nude drawing. The model being paid by the hat, all those present were asked to participate in the session.
Having settled in Grenoble and entered working life, I put painting aside for a time, devoting only short incursions and the realization of pencil or charcoal drawings.
It was in Saint Vincent de Mercuze, within the framework of the workshops organized by the MJC, that I felt attracted to color. I discovered watercolor, oil painting and later acrylic painting.
My practice became more regular, My favorite subjects were for a long time landscapes made from photos. Here again, I have been asked from time to time to create still lifes.
By switching to the practice of acrylic, my painting has evolved, the formats have grown larger and I have felt more attracted to color and a practice of the abstract.
I believe that my painting is becoming more intuitive, more instinctive, I am beginning to no longer be impressed by the chosen model and the desire to want to reproduce it. I am entering little by little into interpretation.