François Avril (Paris 1961) is an illustrator who’s work balances between the representational and the abstract. His pictures, often urban landscapes, defy the laws of perspective and focus instead on visual rhythm and composition.
His early work, however, looks quite different. It is more akin to the "ligne claire" a style very popular in European comics (Hergé and Chaland are two prime examples). Avril was working for advertising, magazines and book publishing in those days and even did some comic albums. Nowadays, comics are few and far between, and since the 1980’s there have been no more albums, only collaborations and short stories which appeared in magazines or group albums.
Avril did continue to work for advertising and magazines and began showing his work in galleries, which often led to the publication of lovely little books with his drawings. I’ve never been that much of a fan of the real ligne claire, so if you want to see more of the early work by Avril, check out the links below.
%5B5%5D.jpg "2009 02 Jazzman No154 hip-hop (2)")
%20livret%5B7%5D.jpg "2003 CD Picnic All day music (2) livret")
If you want to see more of Avril go to the official Avril site or check out this awesome blog by Basil Sedbuk, totally dedicated to his work: lespassantsdavril.blogspot.com
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