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Drawings. Paintings. Models.

true to life creations by Sylvain Joly

Hand crafted artworks portraying the beauty of machinery, history and everything in between.

Black and white drawing of a WWII-era fighter plane on the ground with four men working on it and one man walking away.
Painting of an old-fashioned sailing ship with multiple masts and sails on calm blue ocean under a clear sky.

I have to be inspired by a subject to feel compelled enough to draw it or build it, typically this inspiration comes from a story, a film, or a personal connection. In my creative process I find myself discovering things about the subject which I would have never discovered from simply reading about it or viewing a photograph.

A dark, moody scene of a tall sailing ship with multiple masts and rigging, docked on a calm body of water under a cloudy sky with leafless trees in the background.
A large model sailing ship with three masts on a body of water, with a person's arm reaching toward it, and a French flag at the stern. The sky is cloudy, and trees line the background.

These discoveries manifest themselves in ways that I never expect. In some cases, I will find out the difficulty of correctly bending an outer wooden plank on a model ship, in other cases, simply realizing the scale of a scene from drawing a figure occupying the space.

Automotive Enthusiasm

sand texture
Illustration of a classic dark blue sports car with gold wheels parked on a shaded surface, signed by the artist.
Model of a crashed sports car with broken body panels and exposed internal components, displayed on a white surface.
A damaged toy model of a blue sports car with white racing stripes on the hood, placed on a white surface with a beige curtain backdrop.
Model race car with exposed engine, black body, and black tires on a white surface.

Cars have always been a fun hobby of mine, to drive and to draw (and annoyingly work on). to me they have style and are a great way to express yourself in a day to day way… plus who doesn’t like to go fast? As someone who cares significantly about the environment, cars cause me a lot of cognitive dissonance. I will be the first person to tell you I both hate and love them for this reason…

A detailed model of the Titanic ship, with black hull, red bottom, and four large smoke stacks, displayed outdoors on a black surface.
Model of a ship with three smokestacks, viewed from a low angle with a background of a porch ceiling and autumn trees.

Highly Accurate Scale Models

A detailed model of the Titanic ship placed on a car roof, with house and trees in the background.
Close-up of a detailed model ship deck with miniature figures, railings, and equipment, with a blurred outdoor background.
Model of a ship's deck with small buildings, railings, and a miniature figure of a person sitting on a bench, with wires and support structures overhead.
Model of the Titanic ship placed on the roof of a black car in a garage with a wooden fence and houses in the background.
Close-up of a detailed architectural model of a building, with miniature figures, set indoors near a window, with a garage and trees visible outside.
background texture of beach

This model of the Titanic at 6’ 6” is built based on the original plans from Harland and Wolff originally drawn up in 1908. This model includes counted hull plates, clear plastic for windows and even curtains seen behind them. I trust my sources for historical accuracy thanks to historians like Ken Marschall, Bill Sauder, Don Lynch, Parks Stephenson and the development team behind Titanic Honor and Glory. All of which are extremely influential to my obsession with this ship.

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A charcoal drawing of a tank parked in a residential area with houses and a cloudy sky overhead.
A black and white illustration of a large passenger ship, the Queen Mary, in New York Harbor with the Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building, in the background.