Amaury Dubois is an artist whose diversity seems endless. Automotives and Car Art like you have never seen before. It blows the mind!
At the Retromobile in Paris recently, we saw the unique and artistic work by Amaury Dubois for the first time. His photographic modifications of cars are dynamic and intriguing! Of course, CarArtSpot wanted to know more.
Was your recent exposition at Retromobile in Paris successful for you Amaury?
It was a really good introduction and a surprising success for my new work. There was a lot more interest than I had expected and I think I was successful in bringing my vision of photography from a different aspect, over to the public.
How long have you been doing cars?
I have been an artist for 14 years. My first work was with paintings but I studied photography in Belgium. I did photography at the weekends but my real work was paintings. It took about eight years before I figured out my own style in photography and I thought it was time to show my work.
You have been successful with both photography and your paintings.
In the past I have been more successful with my paintings but the last years there has been a lot of interest in my photographic work. I am self-taught and the difference you see in my photographical work comes from my painting style. I take photos in the same way as I paint.
So you use the same technique and principle for both?
Yes. I plan my photo’s in the same way as I would plan a painting. I look for the eye-line and at the anatomy of the objects in the photo.
Looking at your Ferrari 250GTE which also provides a view inside the car, kind of showing all the elements. Is that what you mean by the anatomy?
No, my style is like a guide for your eyes. It’s a way of looking at it which draws out your own idea of what you think about it. It is more about someone’s’ own dream or vision of a car, instead of just a photo of the car.
So what is your dream of the car? Is it the feeling of the powerful engine and sitting inside and driving this wonderful car?
Yes. It’s not a static photo. It’s about the speed of the car.
You keep each element in place but also very detailed. You don’t blur it. It is in focus.
I keep all the elements and the line of the car and at first glance, you only see a car. But when you look at the photo more carefully, your brain starts working and you see that there is something different with the photo. You see the front, the back, the engine and all the parts of the car but what is this car? It makes someone think.
Do you start with a sketch before you start working with the photo?
Yes and I start doing the photos based on my sketch. So I know exactly which photos I need to take, it’s like a shopping list.
Do all the different images come from your database?
No. I have to find car collectors. Sometimes I phone them and other times it goes via word and mouth but the car collectors want to first see my work and meet with me in person before taking me to their collection. Some collectors have very expensive cars stored in very secretive places. It’s very interesting. They like the style of my work and this is why they want to work with me. It’s not just a usual photo of a car. It’s a very different style.
How do you produce your graphical work featured on your new website? Do you use real paints or keep it digital?
I start with a real painting, then take a photo of that painting and then I work with it on the computer.
Looking at your gallery, I see most of your work has a black background and not yet all these graphical designs. Where are you going with this?
It is still in the experimental stage at the moment. I am not really sure. Maybe it will re-appear in a few years. For the moment, I prefer a black background. But I always try something different and this is part of my research.
The audience only gets to see the tip of the Iceberg
Before I go to take the photos of the car, I make lots of sketches in preparation of how I want to photograph the car and from which angles. I am a painter and so I work like a painter. I am not like other photographers. It’s more my brain and spirit that do the photo’s which lead to my creations.
I think that is why you are reaching so many new people. Your work goes much further and deeper than other digital photographers.
Like an architect, I need a map and plan.
What is your dream for the coming years?
When I see a new car, there’s a new dream. I am going to Singapore soon for an exposition of my paintings.
As an artist you are very diverse, you do paintings, photos but there are also some sculptures
Yes, but for the moment it is only a stage. I am working on it but it’s not ready.
So you have a lot of ideas which still need to be created.
Yes, my brain is full of ideas.
To see more of Amaury Dubois’s work, please visit his website: http://www.amaury-dubois.com/fr/
For his automotive art he recently launched a new website at http://www.art-photo-car.com/en/