Laurine Girard, also known as Zbekal
I paint canvases with relief: thick acrylic, gold leaf, beads. It all began on 10 April 2020, in the middle of lockdown, with a first painting. I haven’t stopped since.
In four dates
- 2020First painting, on 10 April, in the middle of lockdown.
- 2022First exhibition, in Paris.
- 2023Fiftieth painting, and the audience award at the Salon des Arts in Jallais.
- 2026Amazoni: ten paintings, one jungle.
How I paint
Texture first
On my canvases, the paint has thickness. I lay it down layer after layer and slip in gold leaf and beads. The relief catches the light: the painting isn’t the same in the morning and in the evening, from the front and from the side.
Colour, and plenty of it
Deep greens, pinks, reds, midnight blues. I’m not after half-tones, I’m after energy: a painting should wake up a wall.
From the body to the jungle
I started with the female body, faceless, all curves. Then came hands, bouquets, and today Amazoni: ten paintings set in lush vegetation, where women, wild animals and foliage cross paths.
Paintings that tell someone’s story
Many of my paintings began as a commission: a wedding, a baby on the way, a first home, a bouquet received. People trust me with a story, some colours, sometimes a photo. I turn it into a painting that looks like no one but its owners.
My inspirations
- Frida Kahlo, for nature and the female figure.
- Sophie Tea, for freedom in colour and the energy of bodies.
My journey
A first exhibition in Paris in 2022. An audience award at the Salon des Arts in Jallais in 2023. And every Christmas, a painting given away to my Instagram community. From 14 to 22 November 2026, I’m back in Jallais with new paintings.
- Coming upSalon des Arts, Jallais
- 2023Salon des Arts, Jallais★ Audience award for “Fusion”
- 2022“Réalise”
In the studio
