Pito (1924-2000) Place Louis XIV In Saint-jean-de-luz, Basque Country. Watercolor/gouache, 38 X 58 Cm

Alain Ducot, known as PITO (La Réole 1924 - Hendaye 2000) Louis XIV Square in Saint-Jean-de-Luz Watercolor, gouache on paper, signed lower right Located in Saint-Jean-de-Luz lower left H: 38.5 cm x W: 58 cm (sheet) Framed under glass Biography of PITO: Pito, whose real name was Alain Ducot, was a French painter born in 1924 in La Réole, in southwestern France. His family had been restoring churches for generations. A senior officer in the merchant navy, he decided in 1949 to dedicate himself entirely to his painting. In the 1950s, he exhibited his first gouaches at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in Paris. In the following years, he participated in numerous exhibitions in France and abroad. In 1960, he set up his studio in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where he discovered a new source of inspiration for his art. There he met many artists and became friends with some of them, such as the Spanish painter Eduardo Chillida. In the 1970s, Pito moved to New York, where he discovered minimalist art and American popular culture. He exhibited regularly during this period in the United States and Europe. In the 1980s and 1990s, he regularly returned to the Basque Country, where he continued to work until his death in 2000. While appreciated in France, he was even better known in the United States and Japan. Style and works: Pito is best known for his gouache paintings in a somewhat naive style with a very colorful palette. He also worked in mixed media, combining gouache, oil pastels, acrylics, and other materials. His works are often inspired by nature, seascapes, and natural elements. They are characterized by a high sensitivity to colors and shapes.