The Cook, the Painter, the Viewer

When I hear the word voilà, I immediately picture a chef presenting a dish. This inspired me to play with the idea of a character who appears to be a home cook, but is actually a painter. To create this ambiguity, I created visuals that would mislead the viewer—such as his attire, for example, where an apron could easily be seen as something for cooking or painting. Voilà is typically used to show a finished piece to someone else, but I also wanted to create a voilà for the self: where an artist displays their own work to themselves to relish in some personal growth. While voilà is also used to showcase something finished, I believe the true impact of such a “reveal” is felt more deeply when you know the journey that led to it. I wanted to explore that by showing the painter’s work in progress through comic-like panels, culminating in the central focus of the piece: the painter taking pride in the fruits of his labor. Finally, the background allows the viewer to step back and view the scene from the painter’s perspective, as if they’ve just finished yet another painting, pausing for a moment to admire the completed work.