We recently connected with Charline Mahroug and have shared our conversation below.

Charline, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

There’s something rather strange about my artistic career: it was around the age of 14 (at the end of my secondary school years in France) that I learnt that there were possible studies towards the artistic world and, as a child who loved to draw, I followed this path without even projecting myself into an idea of a ‘career’, I always had this ambivalence that being an artist wasn’t a ‘real’ job because I didn’t know anyone around me who had really become one and I was told quite often that it wasn’t the way to earn a living. (Maybe it’s a very French thing to think like that haha).

I wasn’t at all aware that creating, painting or drawing could lead to earning a living, and yet I went to art school: a secondary school in ‘applied arts’, then a preparatory course for art colleges, I even went to a graphic design school and finally to a faculty of visual arts.

Despite all that, the vagaries of life led me down a different path, and I ended up doing day jobs that had absolutely nothing to do with my creative aspirations… only to realise a few years later that I really didn’t feel I belonged and that I was missing out on who I really was.
So it was at the age of 14 that I had the idea of becoming an artist, but it wasn’t until I was over 30 that I decided to take a more concrete step in this direction.

Charline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Thank you for your interest in my world!

I’m Charline Mahroug – known as Winona Adamon – an artist based in France, near Paris.
I express myself through line drawing, painting and sometimes words – you could say I’m both an illustrator and a painter!
I find my inspiration everywhere, in a bright day full of laughter, in a dreadful night soaked in insomnia, through pain and pens, watercolors and starry laughter, books, coffee, wine and tea, as above, as below. And, to put it less poetically, through music, films and books.
I describe myself as a perpetual work (and world) in progress.

As I said earlier, despite having studied art, it was only belatedly that I decided to embark on a professional artistic career; I suppose this is because I used to regard art as something very personal, an expression that served as a safety valve for my mind, and I didn’t dare consider my work as having any value for others.

Today, in addition to sharing my inner worlds, I’m looking to share with other humans – I want a dialogue to be created through my work and what they perceive of it. This can be by selling my own work that I consider finished (although nothing is ever set in stone) and taking commissions from people wishing to see their ideas brought to life through my tools – or quite simply through exhibitions both real and virtual, social networks are amazing for this.

What I’m particularly proud of is that I haven’t given up on the idea of becoming an artist – of course, it’s not easy every day, but I’m currently in a phase of rediscovering the wonder of creation and creativity, which feels great after going through the last three particularly uncertain years.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Oh, there are several things, and I think I can speak for many artists/creators!

The first is that talent isn’t everything: it can be a predisposition you have from the start (for example, when I was little, I was already drawing, I was called “talented” but I wasn’t the only one who drew well for my age) but if you decide not to cultivate this base, this “talent”, it gets lost or there’s no evolution.
We know that when people say “Woah, what a talent!” it’s a compliment, but if you only knew the work that goes into it!
Being creative requires you to be curious, to work, to look for ways of expressing yourself… being creative doesn’t require you to have a talent from the start, so don’t stop yourself from doing things just because you don’t have that extra “something”.

The second is: work. Artists are human beings, and human beings are not machines. Sometimes we fail – failure is important for learning and improving – and just because we show beautiful things doesn’t mean that behind the scenes, everything is perfect. So, this work is very important to bring projects and visions to fruition.
It’s important for people who don’t have this creative vision to understand that it’s not just a “passion” and that it’s therefore not “easy” for us, we also need a break and a rest. Sometimes this can take days or even months.

Creativity is a job that sometimes needs a vacation too!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

It’s a big question, but the answer is simple :)

Respect the work of artists and creative people!

For example, when it comes to visual art, it’s been possible now to generate images by entering lines of words into software programs whose names I won’t mention.
The problem isn’t so much that some people consider themselves artists overnight just because they’ve dictated words to a machine – that’s another subject – it’s mainly that the images generated come from the work of people who never gave their consent for the result of inner struggles and very personal stories to be plundered in this way.

Support artists who are trying to make a living from their art, buy from those who take the time to create on their own, when you can, go and see the small exhibitions, concerts, readings and creators’ markets, share their work; and, believe me, a little note left for an artist means a lot!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.winona-adamon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winona_adamon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winona.adamon
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAsQ5Irlxn_OBfpRRKftzyw
• Other: All my main links are there : https://linktr.ee/charlinemahroug