Home

Rendered Unreality

image by Veronica V. Jones

Olivier Ponsonnet

A purple-skinned alien woman wears an elaborate headdress.
A languid woman with short black hair has a red stain on her lips.
A mysterious man with a large facial tattoo stares intently.

Fantasy character creation is a delicate balance between reality and unreality. Too few fantasy aspects in a portrait can result in a drab, mundane creation, whereas too few familiar traits can render the work unapproachable and abstract. Olivier Ponsonnet exhibits masterful skill in avoiding these pitfalls while continuously exploring the interplay between imagination and realism.

His mysterious, introspective creations run the gamut from slightly askew to excitingly exotic, yet are always lavished with the intricate details required to imbue even the most extraordinarily implausible vision with weight and authenticity. Olivier’s seemingly ordinary character portraits are subtly otherworldly, while his fairies and spellcasters are as real as ourselves.

Mr. Ponsonnet provides no easy answers with his works, only beautiful questions.

Written by in September of 2008. Last edited September 2014.

Related Features

Jessica Peffer

An elf woman with long brown hair with a large fanged serpent. A small winged fairy with a small blue lantern on a pole. A large serpentine dragon rears.

Zombieland isn’t Your Typical Comedy Horror Action Romance

Tallahassee and Columbus (Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg) prepare for zombie combat in a Zombieland grocery store. Little Rock and Wichita (Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone) take a moment in Zombieland. A horde of zombies swarm Zombieland's Pacific Playland.

Underworld Evolution Delivers Undead Ultraviolence

Kate Beckinsale as the lovely and lethal vampire Selene Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman as Selene and Michael share a tender moment.

Patricio Marcelo Balanovsky

A dour looking man with large white wings in a hoodie smokes a cigarette. An sexy yet industrial robot woman closes her eyes. A muscular man with glowing eyes and intricate tattoos stands ready.

Winona Nelson

A winged woman with long dark hair soars through the sky. A pale regal woman in dark robes, an elaborate headdress, and bloody hands floats A young man reaches into his reflection in the water, and the reflection reaches back. An enraged vampire -- surrounded by fire -- bares their fangs and raises their blade A slender woman hides her face behind a passive mask, with a wall full of other masks behind her. A slender woman in a flowery dress walks with a large hyena.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *