Hi there, I am Ryan de Carte, a South African painter currently living in France with my wife and our two small children, Billie and Ezra.

My journey

I grew up between Johannesburg and Cape Town, studied Visual Communication in Pretoria, and spent nearly a decade working for a Cape Town-based illustration and animation studio. I started out as a character animator and later moved into visual development for animation, which involved working digitally in character design, environments, concepts, and storyboards. I began freelancing in 2016, still working mostly digitally, for illustration and animation studios. I have always loved drawing and painting with traditional media, and moving to France in 2018 gave me the push I needed to start steering my career in a new direction.

My approach

I think my work is quite instinctive; it evolves with the different phases of my life. What always remains is my love for colors, shapes and textures. I work mostly with acrylic on paper and like to incorporate painted paper collage when I think it suits the purpose of a piece. Collage forces me to be even more aware of colors and shapes.

My inspirations

There is a lot of artists I am inspired by, and I love reading books on their lives and the experiences that shaped their approaches. For example Pierre Bonnard, for the way he depicted intimate interior life, his use of color and his unique compositions ; also Georges Braque who brought everything to the picture plane, bringing everything to the foreground, taking away perspective.

Life around me inspires me most, I like to draw in my sketchbook at home, sketching our daily life. When I draw my family they are always moving and I try not to take my eyes off them while I draw, That’s why my drawings are often broken, like moments that are unfinished.

Where to find me

I am part of an association where I live: Pyl’artistiques and I have the chance to exhibit my work amngst other artists at the following places : July/August : Sunday at Pyla sur Mer (10am-7pm) ; Wednesday/Friday at the Moulleau (5pm-11pm) Rest of the year : Saturday at Arcachon market place (3pm-7pm)

Thanks for stopping by, don’t hesitate to get in touch at info@ryandecarte.com / +33 6 23 78 73 78 and feel free to give me a follow on Instagram @ryandecarte

Ryan