Isabelle Langlois

Your work is deeply influenced by your role as a domestic violence counselor. How do the stories you witness shape your artistic process?

In my work as a counselor, I witness the destruction caused by domestic violence, on women, on their lives, their self-esteem, and their souls, but I also witness their reconstruction. The women I welcome, with tears in their eyes, their heads down and shame in their gaze, leave the shelter after a few months, with their heads held high, sparkling eyes, and filled with hope. I try to represent in my paintings the beauty, strength, and resilience of these women, who despite their ongoing psychological destruction, continue to care for their children, to work, and to move forward in life while keeping hope for a better future. It is impressive. In my art, I represent their physical and inner beauty using aesthetic elements and bright colors. I attempt to honor them by creating magnificent paintings that reflect their reconstruction process. The reconstruction process, for its part, is represented by the different sections present in my paintings that give the impression of an object that has been broken and reassembled. The patterns are a testament to my own resilience as I use painting and patterns as a means of active meditation that keeps me in the present moment and reduces my anxiety.

Isabelle Langlois | Introspection | 2025

What does “resilience” mean to you, and how do you express it visually in your collages?

For me, resilience is about rebuilding oneself when completely destroyed, becoming even more fulfilled, grounded, and beautiful than before. Just like the caterpillar that turns into a kind of black mush to rebuild itself and become a freer and more magnificent butterfly. It’s about using difficulties and traumas as a springboard to reconstruct oneself, stronger than ever. Visually, I represent it using a collage juxtaposed in different sections that, when assembled, resembles a bit like a patchwork representing reconstruction. I also try to create images of great beauty not for superficial purposes but to represent the beauty of rebirth and resilience. The patterns express the impact of consistency and repetition in a process of reconstruction

Isabelle Langlois | Back To The Essence | 2025

Many of your works blend photo portraiture with illustrative, surreal elements. What draws you to this hybrid approach?

I really like the visual effect of the photographic portrait integrated into the painting; I find that it gives a dynamic and modern effect to the work. Moreover, the hours I do not spend painting the portrait give me a sort of freedom and increased creativity to paint the elements around the portrait. The addition of the photographic portrait associated with the painted elements represents well, I think, the process of reconstruction, that is to say starting with existing facets of ourselves, our qualities, our strengths, and our soul, associated with new elements that help us grow and elevate us.

Isabelle Langlois | African Goddess | 2025

Your use of patterns, color, and symbolism is very distinctive. Can you walk us through your creative process when starting a new piece?

Usually, I start with a visual idea of several elements that I want to combine together, however, the image develops gradually. Especially regarding the colors and integrated patterns. What I find interesting is that I feel there is a moment during the creative process when the work takes on a life of its own and strays from the original concept, which sometimes strangely results in something very close to my subconscious. I sometimes realize that I am reflecting not only the resilience of women but also my own resilience through my works.

Isabelle Langlois | Revival | 2025

You mention influences from urban art and Art Nouveau. How do you integrate such different styles into a cohesive personal voice?

My inspiration from these two currents is mainly at a visual level. In Art Nouveau, I draw inspiration primarily from the beauty of women, among other things through the movement of hair and the addition of flowers in my paintings. As for the visuals of urban art, I really appreciate that they use collage, the use of paint markers, and the application of flat paint with the help of stencils. It gives a graphic result that I find very interesting. For me, creativity is, among other things, the ability to transform all the inspirations that surround us into a unique and personal image. I look at a lot of artists’ images and the influences mix in my unconscious to create images in my own color.

Isabelle Langlois | The Artist | 2025

Can you tell us about the symbolism behind the floral motifs that appear so often in your work?

Regarding the floral patterns, I mainly use them for their aesthetic appeal, as I mentioned above, for me the process of reconstruction and resilience is of great beauty. Women who rise from difficult moments and traumas eventually blossom after a lot of work, just like a flower.

Isabelle Langlois | The Odysee | 2025

How do you see the relationship between art and healing, especially in the context of trauma and recovery?

Personally, art saved my life; I deeply believe in the benefits of art in a healing process, especially with mental health issues. I went through severe depression, and art helped me to get the morbid thoughts out of my head by transforming them into creative, beautiful, and colorful images. Art has, among other things, the ability, just like meditation, to bring us back to the present moment and thus take us out of our catastrophic scenarios and reduce anxiety. Art also has the power to create a bridge with our unconscious where all our wounds and traumas accumulate. My art reflects the resilience of women but also my own resilience as I am a woman myself.