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Lady
Di (1999)
48 in. x 60 in.
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I started this painting on January 1st, 1998 in honor of Lady Diana who died in August 1997 in a tragic car accident. Born the same year as me, I found her very pretty and she was involved in many good causes, for instance the removal of antipersonnel land mines and the elimination of child poverty. She was also one of the most prominent persons in the world. The cause of this terrible accident was a combination of high speed, drunk driving and the absence of seat belts. It could have been all avoided.
It took me 400 hours over a period of 24 months to complete this painting. The painting measures 4 feet high by 5 feet wide. Over Lady Diana's left shoulder is a drunken man holding a bottle of wine and a priest holding a globe of the planet Earth. The flying egg represents the mother of all things.
Every living creature originates from an egg: the humans, the mammals, the reptiles, the birds, the insects, etc. The flying egg in the painting holds the heads by wires. It is a kind of a flying time capsule portraying life at the end of the millennium. The millennium will hold many uncertainties for mankind such as overpopulation, pollution, the extinction of certain species and even forests, and the outbreak of war.
I invite you to click on any of the heads in this painting. This will enlarge them. There will be a few faces unfamiliar to you, but they have influenced my personal life.
My painting will be featured in the new "Diana in Art" coffee table book, compiled by Mem Mehmet, to commemorate the tragic death of the Princess Lady Di.
Lady Di
By Roch Defayette
It took me 400 hours to complete this painting over a 2 year period. Oil painting, 4 feet high by 5 feet wide.
Why? She was my age at the time and I found her very pretty.
Lady Di, of course, is the main character of this painting; her beautiful dress looks like real glowing satin. On top of her left shoulder stands a priest holding a globe, a dove on his hat and a man holding a wine bottle, a factor of her death, alcohol.
I wanted to depict people crying or yelling from pain, that’s why I took picture of people or I was looking for persons who had the right expression.
The building in the center is the design of a video game popular at that time. It is centered, it looks to me like the bottom of a woman. I see sensuality in the shape of that futurist building and the island supporting it.
The floating egg with the woman above it represents the mother of all living creatures.
All creatures come from an egg : humans, animals, fishes, insects, etc. We all come from an egg, we are all related, princess, ordinary people, rich or poor ,we are all equal in the world of the painting. That is why I painted myself , my three children , my master of karate, Chitose Sensei, my master of the insect world, Gilles Deslisle, and my master of painting, Salvador Dali, with important persons like Bill Gates, King Hussein of Jordania, McGuire, Michael Jordan, the Pope John Paul 2, Mick Jagger, Mother Theresa, Alanis Morissette, Bill Clinton and Sir. Elton John. The sheep is Dolly, the first clone.
The egg is like a floating time capsule depicting the life at the end of a century, floating in space.
Notice the hole in the egg. It has the same shape as the hole on the ground. It symbolizes the fragility of the planet; the egg and the planet are the same, the hole also makes me think of the antipersonnel land mines , a cause in which Diana was involved.
The little girl coming from the hole is the hope in the future, a new life begins, the continuity of life...
The tower. This tower is the symbol of my life. It is the old sulfite plant of the company E.B.Eddy in Gatineau ( Hull sector), Quebec. I worked for this company for 25 years. A big piece is missing, like all the years of my life, passing by...
The two butterflies on the right are the fabulous Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterlies named to honor the Queen Alexandra, a few years ago. I was in Papua New-Guinea collecting insects and I saw this big butterfly from my own eyes. I was with Gilles Deslisle, my master of the insect world. Mr. Deslisle is depicted in the painting, he is looking at the butterflies. Mr. Deslisle will also name a new form of butterfly that will carry my name (Form Defayettei). The book will be ready in the coming years, probably 2009.
In 1982-1983, I bought a cat. A black persan cat that I named Lady Di.
Many people consider this painting the best that I have done until now. Tthis painting is almost alive by itself; this unique piece of art will be for sale for the first time when the book 1Diana in Art1 by Mem Mehmet will come out in August, 2007.
I had this painting digitized to make giclée. They are of very high quality, they come in all sizes up to the original size of 4 feet high by 5 feet wide.
Written by Roch Defayette on August 2, 2007. Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
