Traditional Painter Finds Her Muse In Digital Technology

Courtesy of Isabelle Menin.

A decade of painterly tradition lies strangled behind the reduxed romanticism of Isabelle Menin. From Belgium, she pursued a familiar enough artistic narrative—attended school in Brussels, explored painting as much as she could, worked the exhibition circuit. But it all turned out to be a torturous process. That’s when she got “the feeling it was not the place [she] had to be.”

At that time she would be bewitched by the ‘undo’ button.

Digital technology, namely photography, proved to be as enchanting a place as she expected the world of painting to be: “Going digital allowed me to push back my limits, to find a much wider sphere of activity where things tied up fluidly and were reversible.” Menin was intrigued by the freedom to redo and undo at will. Now liberated, she was able to put some distance between her and the years of analysis and education that had clouded her creativity.

In essence, she let it all out.

Work from her Lude series.

Knowing that digital manipulation isn’t necessarily as ‘cold’ of a medium as popular opinion would have it, she set out to make work infused with organic qualities. She photographs all of the elements within her work - the glowing flowers, the hallucinogenic water, the distorted skies - only to layer them atop of each other in heaps much like if she were still painting. Her hope is that the qualities in her work come off as epicly as she feels them.

L'embarquement pour Cythère - 08

Caption: L'embarquement pour Cythère - 09

Music is usually behind her most heartfelt sensations which is why she was such a fine choice to be a guest artist for Forage Press. The publication tasks itself with “inviting creatives across the globe to produce original and exclusive artwork that is inspired by a musical subject matter of their choosing.” Wovenhand’s “Tin Finger” was Menin’s inspiration for the transfixing pieces below. The rest can be seen at Forage Press’s website.

Courtesy of Forage Press.

"…what you see here is not an illustration. This is absolutely not what Wovenhand sounds like; this is even not how WH sounds to me. This is about how I sound when listening to them.

I owe them a lot."

Caption: Courtesy of Forage Press.

When asked if music is often her muse, Menin responded with a resounding “definitely!” And went on: “I don’t know why but as soon as I listen to something I love I immediately feel the tank engine in me starting to work. Maybe it’s because music is something which can touch both body and soul at once. It’s perfectly complete.” Almost like Menin's art itself.

Below, check out the video for "Tin Finger" by Wovenhand, a group that Menin has described as "not only another band, it is a life experience."

Isabelle Menin