biography
Born in the Tarn, south-west France, Annette Cunnac lives and works in Toulouse where she settled in 1983. At that time she joined evening classes in the studio of Pierre Darques at the Fine Art School of Toulouse where she acquired a strong grounding in drawing and painting which she continued at the Academie de Dessin de Toulouse.
Having jointly conducted her professional career and her passion for painting today she devotes herself entirely to her art.
In 2014 she becomes member of the historical Société des Artistes Français and since then has exhibited at the annual “Salon” des Artistes Français as part of “Art en Capital” at the Grand Palais in Paris.
She regularly presents solo exhibitions and takes part in art fairs during which she has received numerous awards. For all of her work, she was rewarded in 2022 with the prestigious Renée Aspe painting prize by the Académie du Languedoc. in 2023 she is appointed to the Academy as Academician Associate Member
practice
Annette Cunnac creates oil or acrylic paintings and pastels on paper
She draws inspiration from her immediate surroundings and from her travels, the source of her paintings, which are the fruit of a direct and sensitive observation of the world around her. She paints reality by highlighting its poetry and its colors. She reveals all the richness of a sublime universe. Her favorite themes are landscapes and scenes of life.
She works outdoors, in direct contact with the subject to capture the variations in light and color. “When I paint outdoors, I am in a state of total receptivity so that nothing distracts the eye from what is important.” Guided by shapes and colors, she creates sketches, more detailed drawings, and photographs that will form a basis for her studio work. This is where the time for reflection and choosing subjects begins before moving on to the act of painting.
She constantly searches for the right tone, the delicacy of colors and a balance between graphics and colorful forms. To transmit the emotion felt during the first perception and to reveal the profound character of the subject is the common thread of her work which will open up an immediate aesthetic emotion and a dialogue with the viewer.
“To magnify the reality to express the essential and to reach emotional intensity in the painting”
travels
Her passion for travel takes her on the roads of the world. Her art is nourished by her encounters and discoveries of new cultures which are essential to the authenticity of her creation.
During her travels she captures moments of life where characters are shown in their familiar attitudes. She draws quick sketches and takes pictures.
Aline Llareus-Dinier, Art Critic, wrote in her anthology book Grandes Signatures Beaux-Arts du Midi de la France, volume I published in September 2016:
“Annette Cunnac is one of those travelers who, long before the invention of photography, traveled the world, sketchbook in hand. Always in search of new sensations, she wants to know what makes it possible for men and women from very different cultures and religions to come together and share similar emotions. Annette captures the attitudes and expressions of the people she meets, as well as the surrounding scenery, giving each object a symbolic, rather than decorative, value. We sense that at each stop, a dialogue has been initiated between the observer and the subject being observed.”
TOULOUSE AND ITS REGION
Influenced by her travels, she takes a fresh look at her immediate surroundings. Her paintings capture the shimmering colors of landscapes and scenes of everyday life, such as the banks of the Garonne, or the bars of Toulouse, which are both a living and colorful theater.
She also draws inspiration from her native region in the South West of France, the Tarn countryside, revealing the soft light and warm ochre colors of its brick heritage. She develops strong contrasts between light and shadow with a vibrant palette to convey her personal vision.
