Growing up in on the Côte d'Azur Sassou Pourroy’s only desire was to become a painter. She grew up inspired by her childhood in Marseilles and its artists. “When I was young, I spent my days in the streets of the Mediterranean port watching a man create landscapes on an easel.” Fascinated with his work, the artist of the École Provençale school, took her under his wing and she started to learn from him aged 10 years. She eventually went on to study art at the École des Beaux Arts in Marseilles.
“The sea is still an endless source of inspiration, as is nature and I am very happy to live in Donegal,” she says. Her work is garlanded with distinguished awards with the First Grand Prix in 1988, Deauville, Normandy, Carousel du Louvre, Paris, and the Art Prestige Cup of Europe, Academy of the Riviera amongst many others.
“I paint with acrylic on canvas. My paintings are a compromise between nature, dreams and reality. I work every day, inspired or not, and I always think of my painting, I live with it.
My style? Mine! They say my way of painting is recognisable before reading my name. The colours also,” she declares. Her magical paintings have been exhibited in Marseilles, Lille, Gironde, Geneva, Netherlands, Belgium and Paris where Sassou lived since 1980 until her move to Donegal.
It was Sabine, the eldest of her three children with husband, Jean Luc, who introduced her parents to Ireland. “My daughter loved Ireland,” says Sassou. Their first trip was, “first, Dublin, Connemara, then Donegal and its magnificent immensity.” The Pourroy’s loved the place so much they bought a cottage in Fanad in 1989. Escaping the heat of the Paris summers where Jean Luc practised as a doctor, the cottage and area was their sanctuary. They spent twenty years spending holidays there until the couple made a life changing decision in 2009 when they moved Donegal permanently. Was it a difficult choice to make? “No,” says Jean Luc emphatically, “we made the decision a long time ago and it took two years to prepare our move.” Do they miss France? Paris? “Never,” he replies. But, surely the food? The weather? “No bother! We cook on our own with fresh products from Ireland and the UK. Some rain or Irish breeze? Just look at the sunset this night.”
He is also from Marseilles, Jean Luc shares his wife’s artistic passions and is an accomplished musician, composer, writer and photographer. Did he choose medicine over the Arts? “I did choose Medicine over the Arts, but Medicine is an Art.
About music, I am a Johann Sebastian Bach addict! I was a church organ player in my young times in France. Here in Milford I play the synthesiser, but if you know someone who could give me access to a church organ, a real one with true pipes and not electronic sounds, I would be very happy.” His photographs feels alive and breathing and Jean Luc’s current project capturing on image “the old stones,” in Donegal, especially in Fanad.
The couple now divide their time between Milford and Fanad as the former is more convenient in winter. And their family and friends come and visit from France every time they can. Sadly, Sabine, their daughter who introduced her mother and father to Ireland died in 1987. Their daughter and son, Osanne and Sean have inherited their parent’s talent. Osanne, 33, is a designer and Sean, 23, “we wanted an Irish name because we love Ireland,” is studying to become a film director in Belgium. It must run in the family as Sassou’s cousin, who paints under the name Move, is, says Sassou, a famous artist who lives in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. She has a stamp featured on the national stamp and former French President, Jacques Chirac was presented with one of her paintings.
Maybe the Oifig and Phoist could use the Pourroy’s artwork sometime as they have a wonderful body of work featuring the beauty of the Irish world and particularly that of the Fanad peninsula.
Sassou has exhibited in the ‘Gallery’ in Dunfanaghy and hopefully will have other in Donegal. And perhaps Jean Luc’s photography. Peut-être
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire