Memorable encounters

Tout au long de mon parcours artistique, j’ai eu la chance de croiser des personnalités qui ont marqué leur époque dans les domaines de la culture, de l’art et du sport. Ces rencontres, parfois inattendues, souvent inspirantes, ont enrichi ma vision, nourri ma démarche artistique et ouvert de nouveaux horizons. Qu’ils soient artistes, écrivains, sportifs de haut niveau, journalistes ou figures du monde institutionnel, ces hommes et ces femmes ont, par leurs mots, leur regard ou leur soutien, laissé une empreinte dans mon histoire créative. Cette page est dédiée à ces rencontres marquantes, témoins d’une vie de création partagée avec celles et ceux qui font rayonner la culture et l’excellence.

Jean-Louis Etienne - Médecin-Explorateur

A doctor specialising in nutrition and sports biology, Jean-Louis ETIENNE has participated in numerous expeditions to the Himalayas, Greenland and Patagonia, as well as in the round-the-world sailing race on Pen Duick VI with Eric Tabarly. In 1986, he was the first man to reach the North Pole alone, pulling his own sled for 63 days.
I have always had a great admiration for this gentleman whose motto is "Always follow your dreams". He influenced my life choices and it was with great emotion that I met him and exchanged with him.

Mylène Demongeot, Actress

It's a great lady of French cinema. In her career she has rubbed Louis de Funes and Jean Marais in the famous movie series "Fantomas". She recently turned into "Camping". Mylène Demongeot is a person with a big heart who loves animals. She is President of Honor of the Refuge de l'Arche Committee, a rescue center where animals live in peace.

What do you think of Laurence Saunois' work?

"I think she's quite amazing and I've had a little chat with her so I know now that this is just one part of her talents and that she does a lot of other things, that she's very eclectic and this woman is amazing. I think she's one to watch. I think she's really a great talent."
Mylène Demongeot, actress

David J. Wagner : Curator/Tour Director and Author, American Wildlife Art

I have known Laurence Saunois since 2008 when I first selected her work to tour in the Society of Animal Artists traveling museum exhibition, ART AND THE ANIMAL, an apt exhibition since her iconography is mostly drawn from the world of animals. Though she’d only been painting as a full-time professional for a short time, her 2008 entry, which was her first entry, was selected by a jury of peers for The Annual Exhibition of The Society of Animal Artists (from which the ART AND THE ANIMAL tour is drawn). More work followed, and for the next 5 consecutive years, her paintings were juried into the Society’s Annual Exhibitions. Her 2008 entry, entitled, Ne me laissez pas mourir (Don't Let Me Die), portrayed a polar bear swimming as if for its life, exhaling bubbles of oxygen with eyes closed under Arctic waters, not knowing allegorically which way to turn in the face of global warming. Few other artists in that exhibition had the foresight or expressed concern artistically about the implications of global warming. But Laurence Saunois did, and in a powerful way. The next year, her painting, entitled simply, Flamingo, was subsequently featured in the important 50th Anniversary Annual Exhibition of The Society of Animal Artists which was displayed at The San Diego Museum of Natural History, adjacent to the famous San Diego Zoo, where flamingoes, with their flamboyant colors and amusing behaviors, have welcomed Zoo guests since 1932, a fact obviously not lost on Laurence Saunois. I’ve also toured work by Laurence Saunois in the 2015-2016 tour of MASTERWORKS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL GUILD OF REALISM, another apt exhibition since her realism is so masterly and extends beyond the world of animals into landscapes, portraits, and still lifes for example. More recently, I’ve been struck by her current body of work, which she calls, "N.B.Cism" (N. for "noir" or black, B. for "blanc" or white and C. for "couleurs" or colors). A good example of work from this series is her painting, En amour, j'ai confiance (In Love, I Trust) a large work of a white dove, back-lit in silhouette with wings spread, dramatizing the artist’s message of love, peace and hope, which is so needed in the world in the age in which we live today.

David J. Wagner, Ph.D. - Curator/Tour Director and Author, American Wildlife Art - www.davidjwagnerllc.com

Brigitte Bardot : : Actress

"It's so beautiful what you create, it's magnificent.
Life is cruel and it takes strength of character to endure. You have that strength - so do I. Your sculptures are your priesthood - mine are the animals. Courage, I love you. I kiss you tenderly".

Brigitte Bardot, actress and animal rights activist

Pierre Durand, Champion Olympique

With Jappeloup Pierre Durand went gold medalist at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Both entered into legend. A film "Jappeloup" was conducted in 2012 on the extraordinary history of this unusual couple. Pierre Durand wrote a book about his adventure with Jappeloup edited with Robert Lafon Editions

Robert Bateman, Master Artist

I had the pleasure to meet him in San Diego on the 50th anniversary of the Society of Animal Artists and attend his lectures on art.

Jocelyn Russell - Secretariat Monument 2019

Jocelyn is an American artist known for her monumental sculptures. When we met in Saint Petersburg, Florida, she was working on the extraordinary project of the monumental sculpture of the very famous racehorse Secretariat, whose film telling its story was produced by Disney : directed by Randall Wallace with Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn and James Cromwell as main actors in 2010.

Chanee, Founder of Kalaweit

He achieves a remarkable fieldwork for saving gibbons from primary forest and other biodiversity that lives. He actively fight against deforestation and palm oil companies.
Muriel Robin, French actress and humorist is the godmother of the association.

Adonna Khare

Amerinan Artist

This artist of great talent draws and stages animals in imaginary worlds.

Diane Mason

Sculptor, former President of the Society of Animal Artists - USA.
Diane is a very talented artist.