French-American Contemporary Mixed-Media Artist
From performing
to revealing.
My creative journey began on stage.
Today, I paint.
And painting has become a very different kind of expression.
My story
Layer by layer, I came back to life.
Art has always been with me. I grew up in Issoudun, in the heart of France, and began on stage, acting and writing shows for children. I learned early how a story, an emotion, a gesture can change a room.
Then came quieter, harder years. Through a difficult marriage I searched for healing and meaning. I learned Reiki and taught it for many years. It was part of my path, and it taught me to listen inward. When that marriage ended, my body began to speak for me: pain became the language of everything I had kept inside. That's when I understood how far I had drifted from myself.
So I came back to what had always been there: creating. Brushstroke by brushstroke, layer by layer, I came back to life.
In 2024 and 2025 I studied at the Beaux-Arts in Sète, France, and began making my own supports from recycled plastic and paper. Reusing, repurposing, wasting less has always been who I am, and now it lives in my work.
After two years living out of a suitcase, I now paint in a Victorian home in Chatham, Virginia, with my partner Ken, a photographer.
Every painting is an invitation inward, toward self-acceptance, tenderness and truth.
If something in my work touches you, maybe it's because we've lived some of the same layers.
The layers
My paintings are built through layers of paint, paper, cardboard, texture, found elements, and words.
I work with recycled and reimagined materials as much as I can. For now I paint on canvas and wood panels, and I am learning to create my own supports from recycled materials. This is an intentional choice. In a world where we constantly buy, replace, and discard, I am interested in looking at what already exists and finding another possibility within it.
The layers are an important part of my work. They can speak to the emotions, memories, experiences, and expectations we accumulate throughout our lives. They can also represent the roles we play, the facades we create, and the different versions of ourselves we show to the world.
Some layers remain visible. Others disappear beneath the surface. And sometimes, what emerges surprises me.
Words are also part of my visual language. I incorporate words and ideas that have impacted me throughout my life — about love, presence, truth, expectations, connection, and being ourselves. I don't use them to tell the viewer what to feel. I use them because they are part of my reality.
From performing to revealing
After years of performing, painting became a place where I no longer needed to perform.
I can simply create.
I paint first for myself — to express what is there and to discover something I may not have been able to put into words. But once a painting leaves my studio, it belongs to another experience.
Someone may recognize something in it that I never intended. Someone may connect with a color, a word, a texture, or simply the feeling of standing in front of it. There doesn't have to be one meaning.
The painting is where we meet.
The studio
This chapter
My studio is a beautiful room inside a Victorian home, a space where I can slow down, experiment, and let my creativity unfold. Through the windows, I can see the trees and watch the birds outside. Being connected to nature is important to me. It gives me a sense of calm and reminds me to pause and take in the world around me.
When my work gets a little messy, I can take it outside to the porch. It's where I sand, experiment with spray techniques, or simply step into the sunshine when I need a break. The warmth of the sun helps me recharge, clear my mind, and return to my work with fresh eyes.
My creative space extends beyond the studio walls. It includes the porch, the trees, the changing light, and the life unfolding just outside my windows. It's a place to create, experiment, make a mess, change direction, and see what happens next.
I am now developing a new body of larger mixed-media works — building slowly, intentionally, and one painting at a time.
Press inquiries and CV available upon request — sandrine@sandrinedaubord.com