The work of French artist Ciou (pronounced see-you) is a funky, dark, and enchanting collection of mixed media pieces. Born in Toulouse, the incredibly talented artist creates her playful characters and animals with huge eyes and long, lanky bodies. The acrylic and ink artwork, drawn on top of a collage base of old papers, is incredibly elaborate and bursting with color and texture. The old pages she uses are from flea markets or vintage stores and carry with them a history that she said, “Have a connection with the subject of my painting.”
Editor Kristen Anderson said it best when describing Ciou's style, “Her line-work is by turns thickly layered like decadent rocker girl eyeliner and then meticulously thin and ornate like stitchwork.” Though many of her characters don horns and frolic with skeletons, the overall sense of her work is cheerful and seemingly innocent in what could simultaneously be described as daunting scenarios.
Ciou's website
via [Hi Fructose]
