Get to know Quentin Monge, the artist behind Casa MOKE’s mural and the creative process behind it.
Hello Quentin, first could you introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Quentin Monge, I am 33 years old, from the South of France, I am an illustrator, and image creator. After studying visual communication in Aix en Provence, I was lucky enough to start my career working as a freelance artistic director in Australia, London and then Paris.
Although, I soon realized that it was not exactly the type of career I was looking for, because of the lack of personal expression. Becoming an artist opened me up to a wide range of techniques and endless exploration.
What brought you to painting and how did you learn?
I always liked to draw as a child, and as a teenager, I never really stopped.
Painting luckily came naturally to me as a medium of expression, although I still learn every day to refine my practice and diversify my approach.
What was the idea behind the illustration you did for Casa MOKE?
The idea was to inhabit this place and dress it with an illustration that could have always belonged to the Casa. Like a small family legacy, left by a passing artist that continues to cross the years on a wall that stands the test of time. The warmth of the South and its fauna, the elegance of the female curves, the village and its bell tower, so many things that make the beauty and appeal of Saint-Tropez.
What was the process behind the illustration and how long did it take?
Working on a raw mineral material (the internal walls of the Casa) like lime was part of the process to help make people feel the authentic space, which we wanted to replicate within the illustration. Bringing out the plaster’s textures and maintaining a very manual and instinctive way of working, like going out of the frame and slightly exceeding composition on the walls and ceilings. It took me a week from the first sketches to the final result.
Do you have key references or inspirations?
Inspiration comes a lot from where I live in the South of France. From the intensity of the blue in Winter to the yellowed aspect of the vegetation in Summer and the patina of the old facades.
I choose to slow down and observe and nourish all that surrounds me.
What do you hope to communicate through your paintings?
My compositions have a relatively minimalist style, yet, often the detail is simply on a shadow or a posture. In a world where speed is often the focus of everyone’s output, I like the idea of slowing down.
To look at a painting is to stop, to slow down for a moment, to accept being immobile and observe. It is this invitation that I try to propose in my paintings.
