"I always varied pens but rarely drawing surfaces. Out of paper for a short time, I turned to the two inert materials: stone and bone. These materials are still "living" materials: rough, bold, smooth, cracked, absorbent. Taming the variety of surfaces on a volume is a real adventure.
So I put aside the paper and canvas fabric to experiment with new drawing sensations. Hand fits. The fingers feel every bump. The spirit leaves guided by reliefs. The tip of the pen folds and unfolds. I even had the feeling that this matter thanks me for taking care of it.
Today I look differently. I understand them differently. This experience has enriched my own drawing skills. The "inert and dead" matter, gave me some lessons." (source)
DZO Olivier's use of different materials led me to experiment with drawing on leaves for a brief period of time at the early stages of Stage 3. This was the point of the stage where I was unsure of my plans for development, and so had a short experimental phase looking at drawing depictions of death on living things such as leaves. Olivier pays close attention to detail in this set of works, using simple medias like pen to create detailed work.
Olivier's work with paper is just as engaging, as he researches skulls of animals and combines them with humans to create an entirely new species of dehumanised characters and subjects. All of his work contains several different elements, making no part of it the main focus, and this idea of his work being busy gives it more of a depth and makes it extremely engaging to look at.
