Jérôme Romain arguably is one of the best emerging painters in France. His realistic oil canvases on hand-built frames picture the human society in all its diversity and shades. "I suppose I paint people because that's the only subject that really interests me.” Picturing instant scenes from everyday life, Jérôme reverses the action of taking random photos. Instead he preserves the scenes on canvas, granting them immortality in today's constantly changing world. 

Check the complete Jérôme Romain feature in Lodown Magazine #91 and enjoy these excerpts in the meantime:

Hello Jérôme, how are you doin'?

Hello, I'm doing fine, spring is back! I'm painting a lot lately and I'm pretty glad about my work, which is rare enough to be said. Then I skate on a daily basis.

What's your daily routine? It seems like you're addicted to painting and paint many hours a day, seven days a week..

I have a simple daily routine. I wake up early and after two coffees I'm ready to work until more or less the beginning of the afternoon. Then I go skate a little bit and come back to work in my studio or wherever I'm supposed to be according to my duties. In the evening I usually chill at home, I might tattoo or sometimes get some drinks with friends. Somedays I just watch what I've done during the day and plan what I'll do the day after. Most of the time I finish my day by reading. I don't paint 24/7 though. When I start a new painting I'm able to paint twelve hours in a row, but it's not often that I paint eight hours a day. And sometimes, guess what, I don't work on Sundays ! 

Is skateboarding a welcoming break to staying sane?

Skateboarding is really important too. I love it and it always has been a pleasure to practice. It's true, it's a break in my working day. It brings me outside and to enjoy fresh air, sun and to meet people. Therefore there might be a strong link between my sanity and skateboarding.

Hands tell a lot about a person. Which aspects of hands trigger your attention to visualize their story?

Indeed hands tell a lot about a person, but what I paint doesn't belong to anyone or anything. It could be anyone's hands which allow people to create a link between their story and the painting. Even though there is always something personal (jewelry, nail polish, etc…) they are especially in action, inside a moment, in an atmosphere. They show a furtive time which looks like many others. They are the reflection and the symptom of an era. They are metonymical pieces and I love, through a simple detail, allowing an opportunity to understand the whole story.

Jérôme Romain is a RVCA Advocate since 2008 and lives in Montpellier in the South of France.

itv. jk, portraits by Julian Dykman