Jean Marie Drouet - Artist

When did you get your first surfboard?
My first surfboard was a soft bodyboard and it was in 78. The same year I bought my first windsurf (a windsurfer with wood wishbone) many years later, I discovered surfing, stopped the windsurfing and now I only ride longboards. 

What was the feeling you had when you first stood on a surfboard?
It was the start of an addiction  :)

What do you love about surfing?
Being in the water. I love being one with the ocean.

What was your most memorable wave?
it's not a memorable wave but more a memorable moment. When I surf early in the morning before work the world is quiet, no wind, nobody around, the waves are glassy… just perfect. I love this moment, it gives me the energy to paint.

What is your favourite surfspot?
My favorite surfspot is 5 minutes from my worshop. It does not have the best waves, but it's cool because it's near.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a child?
I grew up with the beginning of the windsurfing boom and Robby Naish was a good role model of course. 

Who/What inspired you to become an artist?
Many many different things. First I think it was the comics of Moebius, Jeff Jones, then later Edward Hopper and N.C.Wyeth. I've been drawing since I was a child. Making art has always been the obvious thing for me to do. I need to create worlds through my paintings.

What meaning does surfing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surfing has a power of regulation on me. It gives me energy and allows me to surpass myself. It is as an exchange with the ocean. I think it makes me better. Three years ago I left the city to live by the sea and my life really changed.

What sort of education have you had?
I have a degree in fine arts & graphic design.

What was your very first job?
Art director in advertising when I was 17.

What is your current job and what does it entail?
for 13 years I've been a full time painter. 

How did you get into the position you are today?
With a lot of will  to work. Like Neil Young said : "Just do what you want to do, don't listen to anyone else"

What do you like most about your work?
The absolute freedom to be who I want and do what I want. Surfing, painting and drawing, that's what I do again and again. And it makes me so happy.

Where can we find you online?

Posted by: Matthew Ryan, on August 12, 2013
Categories: Interviews

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