Roland DUBUC On Sale

Roland DuBuc, French artist, the sixth of 13 children and son of a construction worker. The very precariousness of the family's financial situation forced him to go to work at the age of 14. In extreme poverty, DuBuc moved to Rouen, where he was lodged by the Salvation Army. During that time, DuBuc struck up friendships with several artists who gave him advice and taught him techniques of drawing. DuBuc moved to other cities later, where he met painters including, among others, Fred Pailhès. In 1950, DuBuc moved to Montmartre in a miserable building without water or electricity. DuBuc’s work gained support from galleries after he participated in the "Great and Young Artists Fair" in Paris. But it wasn't until the mid-1970s during his stay in Switzerland that DuBuc started to earn a comfortable living. Upon return to Paris in the 1980s, his oldest collector, Jean-Paul Villain, opened a gallery that featured DuBuc's work in an important series of exhibitions. These sealed his reputation as a fine artist and gained him an international clientele eager to invest in his works. DuBuc died in his workshop in 1998.

Revitalize your interiors — introduce drawings and watercolor paintings to your home to evoke emotions, stir conversation and show off your personality and elevated taste.

Drawing is often considered one of the world’s oldest art forms, with historians pointing to cave art as evidence. In fact, a cave in South Africa, home to Stone Age–era artists, houses artwork that is believed to be around 73,000 years old. It has indeed been argued that cave walls were the canvases for early watercolorists as well as for landscape painters in general, who endeavor to depict and elevate natural scenery through their works of art. The supplies and methods used by artists and illustrators to create drawings and paintings have evolved over the years, and so too have the intentions. Artists can use their drawing and painting talents to observe and capture a moment, to explore or communicate ideas and convey or evoke emotion. No matter if an artist is working in charcoal or in watercolor and has chosen to portray the marvels of the pure human form, to create realistic depictions of animals in their natural habitats or perhaps to forge a new path that references the long history of abstract visual art, adding a drawing or watercolor painting to your living room or dining room that speaks to you will in turn speak to your guests and conjure stimulating energy in your space.

When you introduce a new piece of art into a common area of your home — a figurative painting by Italian watercolorist Mino Maccari or a colorful still life, such as a detailed botanical work by Deborah Eddy — you’re bringing in textures that can add visual weight to your interior design. You’ll also be creating a much-needed focal point that can instantly guide an eye toward a designated space, particularly in a room that sees a lot of foot traffic.

When you’re shopping for new visual art, whether it’s for your apartment or weekend house, remember to choose something that resonates. It doesn’t always need to make you happy, but you should at least enjoy its energy. On 1stDibs, browse a wide-ranging collection of drawings and watercolor paintings and find out how to arrange wall art when you’re ready to hang your new works.