Pauline de Roussy de Sales

Pauline de Roussy de Sales’ work often feels like scenes taken from classic films, where every character knows their blocking and everything feels both intentional and imaginative, with plenty of opportunity to read between the lines. Featured across her charming printmaking, etching and lithography, Pauline’s style has garnered the attention and commission of clients including Vogue, Marc Jacobs, Bobbi Brown, and WeWork. She spoke to us from the top floor of her family’s Chelsea brownstone, aka her studio, in Manhattan.

1. What are some of your earliest memories of making art?

One of my earliest memories is as a three year old, alongside my dad who was a painter, I would sit on the floor beside him in his studio and create my own works on paper using his colored pencils.

2. Did you always want to be a professional artist?

I never really thought about it, it was just a given...both my parents are artists so I was very much immersed in that world from as early as I can remember.

3. Do you attribute your approach to their influence, or did you always have your own particular point of view?

I was very influenced by both the art my parents made and the art they exposed me to. My mom is French, and we have family still in France, so I've pulled a lot of inspiration from her culture and aesthetics. My dad grew up in New York City, like me, and was very social so he brought a lot of influential people into my world.

4. Any other things that inspired your style?

I was always surrounded by creatives and people creating. I grew up in Chelsea Manhattan and had the openness of the downtown scene alongside my Upper East Side schooling.  I was also influenced by the interior of my school, which was a gilded age mansion on Fifth Avenue. Every classroom was gorgeous and opulent so I definitely absorbed that as well as my mom's French influence and spending my summers in France. Many classic children's books were an early influence as well: I Spy, Eloise, Madeline, Babar, etc. Also my mom made all the invitations for my birthday parties and I still reference some of those color combinations in my work. 

5. How did growing up in New York inform your work?

The people watching here has always provided me with an endless supply of inspiration, as well as having access to so many amazing cultural institutions, from opera and ballet at Lincoln Center to the Met Museum and the galleries of Chelsea. And all the while the city itself is filled with so many one-of-a-kind moments and characters.

6. You can see many of these influences in the elegance and richness of your work. Your interiors are filled with characters who feel like they all have their own inner lives. What attracts you to this type of narrative art making? 

I always liked exploring a page in a book that you could spend time with and continue finding new elements, for me it’s a form of entertainment!

7. Your work also features many quirky characters: someone adjusting a painting on the wall, someone kicking their leg up, or dancing on top of a bar while everyone casually converses around them. Where does this distinct quirkiness come from?

As I paint, I have little stories I create in my head about what is going on in the room and who the people are but it's all very much made up in the moment. As a New Yorker, it's easy to take inspiration just from all the various people you encounter in the city.

8. Any live performances, or gallery shows that you’ve found inspiring lately? 

I go to Swan Lake every year and I love that, though the story doesn't change, I always find a new little nuance, whether that's the decor of the sets or the people watching at Lincoln Center, it's invigorating. Also the Helen Frankenthaler show currently at Gagosian, I love her colors, and scale.

9. How do you feel about the ways the city has changed (and continues to do so)? 

The skyline keeps getting added to and I miss looking out my window and seeing a view, all these glass buildings, and there are so many more people yet less of a neighborhood feel. But New York is still New York in spirit, and it continues to evolve with the revolving cast of buildings and inhabitants.

10. What drew you to printmaking?

I love drawing and especially narrative scenes so, while I knew I wanted to be able to draw intricately, I also wanted to learn a new process and printmaking just ended up making the most sense. It’s the perfect fit because it is such a broad and flexible process-based method that allowed me to combine or switch between lithography, silkscreen, and copper plate etching, all while exploring narrative-based work.

11. What are your favorite mediums to work with?

Liquid acrylic is my absolute favorite medium, and I work on cream colored paper.

12.  Any other special materials or objects in your workspace?

Yes, I have newly discovered acrylic paint markers which came from my desire to find an oil stick equivalent. Also microns for small details, like eyes or shoe heels on a small drawing, and for signing my signature.

13. Your range seems perfect for so many different types of collaborations. Any personal favorites?

I love creating a design/motif/image that goes on physical products, like scarves or lampshades. 

14. Are there any other things you wish people knew about your work?

I don't really think about that…

15. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us! Any parting words?

Thank you!