Marie Cailliau

Responsible parents that we are, we've decided to indoctrinate our daughter from a very young age into the art of geekiness. It usually is self taught I know, but why take a chance?

This is a kit we got from a British shop in Brussels. I think it's what people referred to as sea monkeys. Basically they are shrimps, but there are several sorts of them. We got a set that contained daphnia, fairy shrimps and triops. We obtained a few specimen of each except for the triop who is alone.
We take really good care of our little world. Armed with a thermometer, a lamp, some sand and shrimp food, we monitor their progress. The triop is my favourite because I find him to be the most spectacular (in my heart it's a he even though they are hermaphrodite). It grows so fast!
And it sheds its exoskeleton.
We started by pouring a soup spoon of dirt in water and the microscopic eggs hatched right away. About 24 hours later, we could already see some life in the water.

This is the triop at 3 weeks. Surprisingly enough, I haven't given him a name yet.

This is a picture of a skeleton he shedded recently:

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The opening at Mekanik Strip when very well. There was a jury composed of professional strip cartoon artists including Jan Boschaert. I'm happy to say that I got selected and my work will be featured in another upcoming show in Antwerp, and then will go to the Museum of Strip Cartoon in Brussels. How cool is that?

People basking in the afternoon heat with the band, it was surf sort of music and was very good.

my stuff

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Tomorrow is the opening of the collective show "Home Sweet Home" at the Mekanik Strip gallery to which I am participating.
It's from 14h till 19h, there will be lots of great art to see, and of course food, drinks and even a band!
Mekanik Strip is in the centre of Antwerp, on St Jacobsmarkt n°73. The show will be running until the 14th of October.
Hope to see you there!

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The sultan and his staff

Little giant's needle work

This is the hole left by the rocket

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The elephant!!!

The elephant sucks up water in his trunk and blows it back at the crowd. It was a big moment!

Nighty night!

The way the marionettes moved was absolutly amazing! It was such a fantastic show. We will go back tomorrow and see what happens then. The little girl is going to take a walk around town, she does different things everytime. Today she took a ride on her scooter.

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Royal de Luxe is in Antwerp this week! They are a french theater group with big ideas.
This is what we saw on day one: a Jules Vernes looking rocket crashed into the tarmac of one the busiest avenue of Antwerp. Of course we knew what it was all about since we had been looking forward to this for a while now. But it was quite funny to see other people wondering what on earth had happened there!

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It's holidays and everything is going in slow motion. That's the point I guess... I've started a couple of paintings, but haven't finished anything yet. I have a lot of trouble to function when it's that hot. And of course there are also lots of distractions during the summer, there's swimming, eating ice creams, sleeping later...
Leia did very well at school this year, it was her 1st year at primary school. We had promised her a guitar if her report was good (which we knew it was going to be, sometimes we are just looking for excuses to spoil her...) so, a promise is a promise! Are we some of those insufferably proud parents? You bet we are!

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I've been working on a new website these last couple of days.
Take a look at it at www.cailliau.org.
My blog is linked to it.

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This week end I had the opportunity to go and spend a couple of days in Paris. It had been a little while since I had been there and it was great! Even though I don't live in France anymore it still feels like home...

You wouldn't tell like that but it was really hot and sunny that day.

Gay Pride at La Bastille

Paris is beautiful.

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One of my paintings features in this week's readers art on Juxtapoz.
Thanks a lot! You guys are great!

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The day finally came!
I have been dutifully crossing days on my calendar until yesterday when Violent Femmes came and played in Brussels. Finally! It was a *great* concert. Really, best time ever! I'm still humming.
They were really good. Plus, they played all the songs from the Add It Up album, which like for many is my favourite. I know them all by heart.
Violent Husbands, whom I saw in Antwerp not long ago, were doing the 1st part. They got to play with Violent Femmes for a couple of songs and they looked really happy. You know the look OMG-I-can't-believe-this-is-happening!... Congrats!

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Luc's last game is just out, and it's a big success! (Luc is my husband by the way).
In this game, you have to use sharp observation and super fast reflexes to bash the garden gnomes and stop them from invading your lawn. Some are real tough though and could hurt you. You've been warned!
You can download the trial version for free, and get even more features when you buy the game.
It's all there for you!

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Greedy Girl 130x90 Oil and Acrylic on Canvas

Greedy Girl (Detail)

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Paint Me Pretty 130x130 Oil on Canvas

Paint Me Pretty (detail)

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Hercule Poirots of the world, rise up!
The moustache tattoo is a new craze that seems to be spreading very fast. This video is really funny! The news presenters are saying it's silly, and yet they can't keep themselves from striking the pose!
Go on... I know you want it too...

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I'm back, and since last week I've been desperately trying to catch up.
I use a chess clock to measure how much time exactly i spend working. It's very accurate since I pause it even when i go and make a cup of tea. I think that being at home, and being a mum, you can easily lose track of how much time exactly you put into work since there are always lots of other things to do around the house. I work during the day when my daughter is at school and at night. If I manage to do 10 hours of work in a day, I'm very happy. Of course, that means sleeping has stopped being a priority a *long* time ago.
Yesterday I skipped sleep entirely and managed to work 18 hours! I stopped when I thought I was going cross eyed. I had never been so happy to have a mp3 player!

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I brought my last paintings to the gallery yesterday. I'm looking forward to see how they are all going to look together.
Not surprisingly, the large painting I am currently working on is taking me way longer than I anticipated. It will only be finished after the Easter holidays but it's going to be well worth it though.
I am going on vacation tomorrow, so I won't be putting any new stuff in here for a little while. See you soon!

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I have started a large painting, I think it will be about 1.50 metre wide. I have been sketching most of the day, and hopefully I'll be done with the drawing by tomorrow... hopefully... I always put a lot of care in the drawings, i work out the entire composition before i move on to the canvas. Especially at this scale, I don't want to have to make changes when I'm in the middle of the painting process. Tomorrow I'll go and get the stretchers and some new canvas at the art supplies store. I'm really excited about this painting, I have a really good feeling about it. So, bear with me, I'll be posting some pictures soon.
Having said that though, I did find the time to go to yet another concert. I went to see the Violent Husbands and they were really good, very funny too. They got me laughing a few times.

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Love Letter 50x60 Oil on Canvas

Longing 40x30 Oil on Canvas

Café Noir 70x70 Oil on Canvas

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Yesterday I went to the theatre to see Henry Rollins' "25 years of Bullshit". This guy is just so funny! I had such a great evening I can't wait for his next European tour. He mentioned during the show that he had this blog called Dispatches so of course I had to check that out since I am fast becoming a big fan of his. And yes, I'm already hooked. Dammit! One more website to read on my daily web browsing...

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Catrin called me today with wonderful news. She sold three of my paintings!
Tomorrow I'll go the NICC and the Kunstenloket to find out what to do administratively.
In two weeks I'll have a talk with Catrin about us working together. If I become one of her gallery artists, she will be the only gallery representing me in Antwerp. My work will be there in permanence.
So, that's great!! Back to my easel!

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Saturday evening I went with Dominique to the Vooruit in Gent for the Studio Brussel party. There were many bands performing in 4 concert halls. Among them were Goose, A Brand, Woodface, Hooverphonics, Millionaire, dEUS and a few more... It was a great night! Millionaire were my big favourite of the evening and even after such a succession of concerts dEUS still gave an hour and a half long show. Fantastic!

Yeah I know, live pictures suck. Still...

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I went to see Catrin Alting at the H.Art Gallery this afternoon. I was really pleased with the way she put the exposition together. My work hangs along the work of Fujio Akai who was also there today. It was a real pleasure to meet him! He was very talkative and I was all ears.
Although I haven't had yet the opportunity to go to Japan, I am fascinated by the Japanese culture. As I grew up in France, almost all the cartoons we used to watch on TV were Japanese. Actually, I can't remember any TV shows or cartoons that were not Japanese. There is a big public there for manga. I love this genre and it shows in my work.
Here are a few pictures of the installation.

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Record 80x100 Oil on Canvas

Record (Detail)

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In my paintings I explore teenagehood as a particularly excluding period in one's life. I create a sense of alienation within my work and in relation to the viewers.

While my work is at first inviting, viewers are being caught peeping into a world they are not necessarily invited into. Subjects are portrayed in their daily occupations, such as eating, listening to music, or just hanging around being bored. The viewer is caught staring, and is stared back at. The painting becomes the snapshot of an interrupted scene, a moment suspended in time.

While conveying the essence of a scene, I create a conflictual relationship and put the viewers in a state of limbo between invitation and rejection.

In my work I marry techniques of the old masters to a modern visual language inspired by my love of strip cartoons and manga.

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After agonizing over the quality of the pictures I took of my paintings, and the presentation of my portfolio, I finally plucked up the courage to go and see gallery owners around Antwerp. I got a very positive response from everyone. I got offered a six weeks show at the Galerie Lynda Beck on the Volkstraat here in Antwerp, it would be for January 2007. I'll be participating to the "Expo Jong Talent" in September organized by Mekanik Strip. And since Friday some of my paintings are at the H.Art Gallery. Not bad for a first week. I have send my portfolio to a few more galleries but haven't heard anything back yet. I started researching galleries in Brussels and London too. I'll go there soon.
This week I'd like to do as much painting as I can, so hopefully I'll soon have more photos!

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This week end i went to Mekanik Strip for the vernissage of three strip cartoon artists. Maarten Vande Wiele's work was my favorite there, beautiful sexy and fun! The show will go on untill the 18th of March.
After that I went to Glamor is Undead on Geuzestraat. There was a live act Hypnoskull vs.OKK-ULTh. It was the second time these two artists performed together.

It was intense to say the least! I had a great time there! I got to talk more with Fleur, and meet a bunch of other fun people. Thanks guys for the great evening!

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From today untill the 10th of March some of my most recent paintings will be shown at the H.Art Gallery in Antwerp. The gallery is on Orgelstraat right next to the Bourla theater.
Here are some pictures of my work:

Rollies 40x30 Oil on canvas SOLD

Spring Day 30x40 Oil on canvas

Pretty Toes 30x40 Oil on Canvas SOLD

Candy Apple 40x30 Oil on canvas SOLD

Cigarettes and Lollipops 60x80 Oil on canvas

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My name is Marie, i'm a painter, and well.... this is my blog!
I'll be posting about my next shows and most recent paintings. Hope you'll enjoy it!

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