Lucky Luke - 'Daisy Town' (1983).
Pascal Dabère is a French pastel and oil painter from the Loire valley. He began his career as a comic artist, assisting Morris on the comics adaptations of the animated 'Lucky Luke' films. He also created 'Chevalier Evanhouy' (1981-1982) for the French Tintin.
Lucky Luke
Dabère was born in 1957 in Saint Jeoire en Faucigny, a town in the French Haute-Savoie region. He started painting and drawing at age 13, and received his artistic education in Paris. At age 17, he responded to a newspaper ad and sent one of his 'Lucky Luke' drawings to Éditions Dargaud. The publisher hired him to work in the creative studio involved in products related to the 'Lucky Luke' series by Morris and René Goscinny. He was for instance responsible for the comic adaptation of the animated 'Lucky Luke' film 'La Ballade des Dalton' (1978), which was serialized in Pif Gadget and Spirou in 1978 and published in book format with other previously unpublished stories in 1986. Later, he also drew the adaptation of the 1971 'Lucky Luke' film, 'Daisy Town' (1983).
Evanhouy
Dabère was furthermore present in the French edition of Tintin magazine, called Tintin Hebdo. Together with scriptwriter Bianchi, he created humorous short stories starring the medieval knight 'Evanhouy' (1981-1982), of which the artwork reveals influences from both Morris and Albert Uderzo. Dargaud published two albums, 'Une Aventure d'Evanhouy' (1983) and 'Le Siège' (1984). A Danish edition of the first album was published by Egmont in 1986 ('Ivan Hoe og Kong Filip den smukke'). Dabère additionally illustrated a few other short stories for the magazine, written by Christian Blareau and Alain Jost. Pascal Dabère made illustrations for the press, before fully devoting all his time to painting from 1991 onwards.
Painter
Since 1987 the artist has lived in the center of the Loire Valley, which has been a major influence on his paintings. Specialized in oil and pastel, Dabère always paints on site. He has captured the banks of the river Loire, the surrounding landscapes, but also flowers and portraits. A recurring theme in his paintings is mankind's responsibility to protect nature. He has also made many still lifes. He is a "Pastel Master" of the Pastel Society of France since 1997, and his work has earned him many awards and exhibitions. In 2001 he was even honorary guest at the Salon de Chanceaux-près-Loches. Pascal Dabère's works are part of private collections in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain, the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, and in several galleries.