Hi! I’m Cavannos.
I’m a French artist living in the Alps, in the Mont Blanc area.
I’m passionate since my childhood by Rock music, the hippie and sixties spirit, and cars. I feel the most at home at a Rock concert and at a circuit. Born in an artists’ family, painting is what I learnt first, and is the way I express myself artistically. Photography came later, as a hobby for film photos, and as part of my preparation work for painting: I mostly work from my own photos.
I create original pieces and commissioned work. In each case, a painting is a single copy. I always work from pictures, either taken by me, the client, or a photography agency. I have exhibited so far at Rétromobile Paris, Epoqu’Auto, Chantilly Arts & Elégance, Elégance Megève, Supercar Driver’s Secret Meet.
The idea behind my artworks
Creating has always been part of my life, and it has evolved into bridging two worlds: the vibrant 60s/70s aesthetic, and the automobile world. But first, there was a fascination I had as a child for shapes and colours: logos, lettering, posters, album covers. All my paintings are rooted in this same inspiration: transmitting the visual sensations of abstract shapes blending together to create those familiar automobile shapes we love. My paintings are a celebration of those designs, and proposal to see them differently: surrounded by strong colors, responding to patterns, or sometimes pushed to the limit of abstraction, where the shapes of the cars themselves become a sort of coherent pattern.
Story of my name
Cavannos is the translation of “owl” in the ancient Celtic Gallic language. The Celtic artistic universe is another of my influences, also rooted in childhood fascination. I chose this artist name for the mythologies linked to the owl: the messenger between two worlds, visible and invisible, the one that travels both and bridges them. I like this symbolism as I feel it suits my approach of automobile painting, between cars as minimalistic art objects and exuberant patterns and colors.
Art studies
After four year studying in art school I graduated in 2022 from the ENAAI art school near Chambéry, specialising in Illustration and Graphic Design. I did three internships during my studies: the first one with my parents, when I created the complete layout of a book of drawings and short texts, the second in the art project Sanasa, led by artist Heidi Zilmer (along with artist Bolatta Paarnaq Silis-Hoegh), taking place on 14 days in Nanortalik, Greenland; and the third one at the “My Photo Lab” photography and printing studio in Chambéry, where I learnt more about photography, editing, fine art printing, and some basics in studio photography.