"My art captures the beauty and soul of animals, inspired by their silent stories. I focus on light, shadow, and expression to convey emotion and connect viewers to nature’s strength and fragility."
Read a Q&A with Marion Tubiana
Talk to us about your work featured here.
What are the main themes and ideas explored?
For this selection, I offered several oil paintings, each conveying a powerful power, whether in the animal's gaze or posture. The atmosphere is often dramatic, enhanced by a careful use of light that naturally guides the eye toward the subject's expression. I wanted each painting to be compelling, for us to feel a strong, almost living presence.
I also presented a pastel, softer and more delicate, with a more velvety approach, but without losing any of its intensity. The technique changes, but the attention to detail remains the same, as does the desire to convey a powerful message through the subject's gaze and posture.
Describe your creative process.
My creative process begins long before I touch a canvas.
I spend a lot of time observing the animal world, capturing details, textures, and attitudes. And as soon as I have the opportunity, I touch it.
This direct contact helps me understand the material, to see how it's structured...
I then work from photographs. I choose a subject that deeply inspires me, a look, a posture... If the photo isn't mine, I always ask the photographer for permission.
Then comes the stage of transforming the image on my computer. This is where the real artistic direction begins: I modify the colors, the contrasts, the framing, sometimes to the point of completely deviating from the original photo. My goal is for the final painting to be entirely my vision, not a simple reproduction.
What are the main influences and inspirations behind your art?

What inspires me is simply the beauty of the animal world. Their presence, their grace, their silent strength… Animals don't speak with words, but you just have to look at them to understand. A look, a posture, an expression can say so much.
Through my work, I want to shine a light on them, to remind people how precious and essential they are to those around us. I believe that today we need ambassadors to defend their place, their dignity, and to convey their messages through art. If my paintings can contribute to this, then I have achieved one of my deepest goals.
What is unique about your art? What do you consider the strongest aspect of your work?
My work is above all a declaration of love for the beauty of animals.
Through each painting, I seek to capture not only their appearance, but above all their soul, their silent yet powerful presence, and sometimes even the message they seem to want to convey to us.

Each work carries its own atmosphere, often built around a play of light and shadow, which gives depth and intensity to the scene.
But what truly guides my painting is the gaze.
The gaze is the heart of my portraits, the one that tells a story, that moves, that questions.
An expression can say much more than a long speech, and it is this emotion that I seek to convey—the one that connects the animal to the person viewing it.
What is the biggest challenge for an artist?
What is the hardest part of your job?
One of the biggest challenges as an artist is managing frustration. We often have a thousand ideas in mind, dozens of references that inspire us and that we'd like to see come to life on canvas... but we have to make choices. Creation requires time, mental space, and you also have to juggle commissions. Finding a balance between personal projects and client work is a real daily challenge.
Another difficult aspect is letting go, especially from a financial perspective. Being an artist means accepting that no two months are the same, that income varies, and that uncertainty is part of the journey. It's sometimes stressful, but it's also what makes this life so vibrant and sincere. We move forward with passion, embracing this element of the unexpected.
What is the most rewarding part of being an artist?
The most rewarding thing is to live from my passion. Doing what I love every day, getting up in the morning with joy, painting, creating... it's an immense privilege. I go to bed at night already looking forward to the next day, the days go by so quickly. Being able to live like this, carried by what I love so deeply, is priceless.
What does "good art" mean to you?
What makes a piece of art great?
To me, good art doesn’t really exist as a fixed concept. Art is deeply subjective. What moves one person might leave another completely indifferent — and that’s okay. It’s not about whether a piece is “good” or “bad,” it’s about what it makes you feel. If a work speaks to your emotions, touches something inside you, then it’s good for you. If it doesn’t, it simply wasn’t meant for you — and that doesn’t make it any less valuable.
What is the role of the artist today?
The role of an artist today is to bring a little joy.
In a complex world, art has the power to uplift, inspire, and connect people through emotions. Bringing light, beauty, or a moment of reflection can make a real difference.