“I was at Gorey, I took my oil pastels, and that day I decided to make the castle pink. It was the most random thing in the world. The piece sold straight away.”
Cristabelle Jégard is a Jersey-based artist seeing the island in a different way. Inspired by the expressionism of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, she boldly experiments with abstract shapes filled with contrasting colours.
This approach to landscapes initially emerged in Ischgl, Austria, in a small hotel room overlooking the mountains. “You could see everything, and I just started drawing the opposite hotel against the peaks in oil pastels. I used yellow, red, I painted the trees pink, I did all kinds of stuff.” It stemmed from Kirchner’s Swiss landscapes – a love for the way he painted with electrifying colours. “I studied him for ages in art school,” Cristabelle said, “I fell in love with his art instantly. I went to an exhibition in Germany, which had loads of his artwork, and I sat there the whole day, drawing them and copying the bold colours and outlines.”
For Cristabelle, colours have a sensory meaning. They are alive, with tastes and emotions. When she’s drawing someone, she sees it as a way of portraying their inner emotions, using her interpretation to create a visual depiction of her subject’s inner world. “I’m good at reading people,” Cristabelle said, “I would never do a portrait from a photo, because you miss the intimacy of the moment. When you capture a person from life, you can build a rapport with them, and open a window where you can understand what they’re like.”
The shapes she chooses to contain these subconscious interpretations within are by and large inspired by the historic Moai sculptures on Easter Island. Carved by the Rapa Nui people in eastern Polynesia between 1250-1500, the monolithic human figures feature overly large heads, and are admired across the world for their size and mystery. “I used to spend hours at the British Museum in London, drawing the Easter Island head they have there,” Cristabelle said, “whilst I believe the statue should be returned to its rightful place, I was lucky to have the opportunity to draw them. A lot of the facial expressions in my portraits were inspired by the sculptures at the time, and depicted quite sullen and emotionless figures.” Cristabelle would contrast these facial expressions with the vibrance of bright colours, painting in emotions between the lines. Her unique artistic style, fuelled by her social intuition, visually presents the dichotomy between personal interior worlds and exterior appearances.
In the absence of a subject, Cristabelle’s landscapes draw meaning from her personal relationship with the environment. A lot of the locations in her paintings are out East – places that are familiar or that have prominent childhood memories. “When I moved to Gorey, I spent a lot of time swimming behind Gorey castle,” she said, “I think that’s why I love it so much. It’s where I feel most happy and at home.” Places she loves out West feature in her artwork too: “I’ve created pieces at Beauport and Portelet – I have some amazing memories there.”
Many of Cristabelle’s landscapes focus by and large on coastal locations, capturing some of the island’s most beautiful seascapes. They featured in JARO Gallery as part of their exhibition ’Hidden Depths’. Sharing the stage with the work of Nicholas Romeril, Cristabelle’s paintings reflect her deep and long standing connection with the ocean. “Every single beach I’m painting at the moment has been a part of my life growing up,” Cristabelle said, “I was always in the sea and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” For her, the ocean is a form of therapy, and between surfing and swimming she’s underwater pretty much all year round. “When I go under the surface it’s my moment away from everything,” she added, “apart from the waves crashing you can’t hear anything, it’s the most beautiful feeling in the world. Everyone has their own idea of why they love the ocean so much. That’s mine.”
Instagram: @cristabellejegard
