Loana, painter

♥ Which museum gives you the greatest emotion? Why?
The museum that made the biggest impression on me was the open-air museum of France Miniature in Elancourt. Being able to discover France in just a few steps and stop on details of life scenes to become an omniscient giant for a moment marked my life as a budding artist that I was a little girl.

♥ What piece of art would you buy without hesitation if you had an unlimited budget?
Van Gogh’s Starry Night, to be able to lose myself in this dreamlike landscape before falling asleep. Despite its heavy context, the painting reminds us how art liberates us and connects us to what is essential: the beauty of the world around us. I can’t think of a better way to wake up feeling inspired.

♥ In which city do you feel happiest? Why or why not? Share your 3 favorite addresses.
Paris. Paris as a tourist. I love the energy that teems in the city all year round. Getting lost and walking through different atmospheres. I melt into the sunny atmosphere of the summer terraces. I revel in the noise of passers-by whom I observe and whose pictorial energy I capture. My headquarters in Paris is an unusual place cluttered with restored objects, old train cars reinvested in food trucks, teeming plants and garland of lights… Station F in the thirteenth district.

♥ What book keeps you up all night?
The book, or rather the comic book, that kept me up at night is the story of a young teenager in the guise of Lou, written and drawn by Julien Neel. The author, whom I met during a comic book festival in Alpe d’Huez, knew how to melt into the features of a young teenager who grew up with me.

♥ What are your biggest sources of inspiration?
My sources of inspiration include Henri Matisse, Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. I love the childlike soul that emanates from their colorful and naive paintings despite the long work behind them. I am also very inspired when I travel, and I always have a small notebook to capture the first lines of a future painting.

♥ What’s the funkiest thing you’ve done in your life?
The funkiest experience – adventure is my discovery of the converted car trip with my best friend. One month on the road, one month of self-denial and learning a minimalist life with all the pleasures and hassles that come with it. Above all, the freedom to stop wherever you want, to feel that you can live with very little is a learning experience about yourself and your ability to adapt to the world.

♥ What is your definition of happiness?
Being able to live each day from my passion, with the capacity for wonder of a child.