Certification student
Cédric Léonard
«I don’t try to beautify reality.
I try to face it!»
From line drawing to constructed painting.
When Cédric Leonard joins the certification program he was starting with line-based drawing, without structure, values, or volume.
Through intensive training, his work shifted toward observation, construction, and control of light.
A decisive moment came during the live portrait sessions, where he moved from execution to presence.
« I stopped trying to perform and started being present in the painting. »
Cédric Leonard completes his certification program in 2026, following two years of intensive training combining core technical skills, master copies, original works, oral exams, and critical studies in art history, curatorial thinking, and artistic communication,… equipping him with the tools to navigate his path as an artist with confidence and curiosity.
Cédric Leonard enters the atelier with a practice centered on line drawing, without a structured understanding of volume, values, or painting.
Within a few months, his work undergoes a clear transformation. Through sustained practice, he develops a disciplined approach to observation and construction, learning to organize light, simplify forms, and build coherent images.
A key moment occurs during a timed portrait session. Faced with personal pressure, he shifts his focus away from performance and toward presence. This marks a turning point in his relationship to painting.
Today, his work is grounded in technique. He is able to construct compositions, work from life, and articulate a visual intention through controlled use of values and light.
His paintings explore human figures marked by inner tension, not staged, but observed in moments of fragility or restraint. Rather than idealizing, he seeks a form of directness.
Between controlled passages and more open areas, his work maintains a deliberate instability. This tension between precision and release defines his current direction.
Cédric Leonard is currently developing a coherent body of figurative work, with the aim of building a professional artistic practice.
