Joie de Vivre

Based in Paris, France, Marguerite Sauvage has worked since 2001 as an illustrator, artist, and animator creating chic modern illustrations that capture the lifestyle of today’s trendsetters. Her eye-catching work is soft yet powerful, combining sophisticated European sensibilities with line work inspired by both traditional art and contemporary culture. The result is a well-edited, light line, an eye honed to current trends in fashion, sport and design, and colorfully cosmopolitan characters rendered with a delicate hand.   

Marguerite grew up in the French countryside near the small town of Coulommiers, east of Paris. She drew throughout her childhood and teenage years, particularly comics inspired by Japanese animation and European comics. A self-taught illustrator, she originally studied law and communications, and did not decide that illustration was her best means of self-expression until she graduated from university in 2001. Her name, which translates to “daisy” in English, is indicative of her personality and her preferences. She admires the strong, beautiful, and feminine in life and as inspiration for her artwork. Everyday life is probably her biggest source of inspiration, as she states: "Happiness and anti-stress: I just want to make things prettier."   

While all of her finished illustration work is done on the computer, Marguerite starts with pencil sketches and transfers her drawings to the computer where she manipulates the composition and any photo elements in Photoshop before applying color digitally.   

With illustration that is stylish yet accessible, she has been in demand with prominent advertising and corporate clients. In addition to commissioned illustrations, Marguerite and her work have been featured in such edited publications as Web Design Magazine (Korea), Computer Arts (UK) and have been covered by a number of art and design websites and blogs. Her work has also been published in a number of books on various topics relating to art and design including Illustration Now! by Taschen. Marguerite has exhibited in the France, USA, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and South America. Recently she exhibited illustrations that were a mix of graphicism and eroticism at the Grafuck Show! in the Nucleus Gallery in L.A. and the Exquise design project in Paris   

Marguerite is quite enthusiastic about experimenting with new media and is also quite fascinated by motion. Her animation work has touched on both series and character design, as well as commercial animation applications such as short films, the web, and commercials. Her purpose? Just to create new, joyful, and light images—pleasant to be seen, communicating a kind of “joie de vivre”.