My Story

Born in 1963 in the United Kingdom, I lived in this country and in Montreal before going to Luxembourg. Today, I divide my time between the Florida Keys and Quebec. My origins are varied: my parents were born in Egypt, my father being Czech and my mother Venetian, French and Ottoman. Self-taught, I have always felt attracted to art, but I chose to embark on a banking career. It was in 2015 that I returned to oil painting and presented my first collective vernissage in Luxembourg in 2019.

​

From an early age, I was passionate about all forms of art! My grandmother, who was a great lover of visual arts and had a rich library of art books, allowed me to discover the great classical painters. At the age of 10, I had the opportunity to present to all the students of the primary school a slideshow of 100 color drawings from The Little Prince.

 

Throughout my primary and secondary studies, I entered various creative competitions, winning the first prize each time. Although I studied science, I benefited from all the arts classes offered and played clarinet in the school's symphony orchestra. Thus, I had the opportunity to learn sculpture, screen printing, linocut, and painting for several years. My best memories are those of art and music classes that I attended with pleasure and passion!

​

My parents had prepared me for a career in Graphic Art, but when it came time to decide on my career, I chose to pursue medical school. I wanted to study the human brain. Unfortunately, after 3 months, I had to give up. This failure troubled me at the age of 16. I did not know then that I had attention deficit disorder. I opted for economic studies with a specialization in Finance and obtained my Master's degree in Administration and Finance. That is when my career took off and, at age 35, I became the youngest Chief Risk Officer of a bank in Canada. At the age of 40, I flew to Europe and worked for the most prestigious private banking bank: UBS. During all this glorious period, I unfortunately never touched art again.

​

At the age of 52, I had a great revelation! When my daughter expressed her interest in architecture, we enrolled in drawing classes offered by Galerie Edition 88, located in Luxembourg. The owner of the Gallery, Mr. Popov, was a respected Bulgarian artist. After only two sessions, it was obvious that I had a gift for drawing and I quickly began learning oil painting. Unfortunately, this experience did not last long, as Mr. Popov passed away after a few months. The teachers who succeeded him did not inspire me and the frustration of waiting a whole week to paint invaded me more and more. Determined to find a solution, I created a small studio at home despite my busy schedule as a banker.

​

In 2019, I held my first exhibition in Luxembourg highlighting the theme "Carré de soie", inspired by the famous silk scarfs of Hermès. I was fascinated by the bright colors and the diversity of patterns. However, this collection and the next one, although very decorative, lacked depth and realism. That is why I decided to develop a more subtle collection rich in values: Arabesques.

​

In 2023, the KeyWest Collection followed inspired by the colors and beautiful landscape of the Keys. In the same year, I developed the Lodge collection inspired by my new home in the mountains of the Eastern Townships of Québec.

​

Today I divide my time between the Florida Keys and Orford, Quebec.

​