Pascal Stéfani is an amateur entomologist and
animal painter. He was born in the North of
France in 1974 and has been deeply interested
in nature since childhood. Fascinated by
reptiles and amphibians at first, he quickly
enlarged his field of interest, encouraged by his
nature-loving parents, and began to study and
collect insects. Today entomology has become
a consuming passion and is an important
aspect of his life and of his family.
Pascal would have liked to engage in
scientific studies and become a professional
entomologist or researcher. Unfortunately
(by his own admission) was not as proficient
in mathematics as he needed to be. Instead,
he followed his second life-long passion and
enrolled in a renowned art school, the Institut
Saint Luc in Belgium, where he enjoyed
training in advanced graphics. Valedictorian
of his class, he quickly found a job as an
illustrator. It was only later on, working on a
pedagogic farm (this is a classic farm where
animals are seen by children or other people
who come to visit, and explanations are
given to visitors by the owners of the farm or
their employees; teaching is the objective, not
productivity) where he was able to combine his
two passions in designing pedagogic panels,
which are like a black board in a school, for
writing explanations for visitors, generally
accompanied by drawings and photos.
In 2000 Pascal started working for a protestant
charity association, where he taught a drawing
and photography classes. He helped to
accomplish a great number artistic projects
and the management of the association also
allowed him to perfect his scientific drawing
skills through a series of training courses in
the National Museum of Natural History in
Paris between 2005 and 2007. At first Pascal
worked in the Great Evolution Gallery, tutored
by Mr. Pascal Le Roch, and later on, in the
Entomology Department thanks to Professor
Jean Legrand and the advice of Gilbert
Hodebert.
Some of the illustrations he executed during
these training courses have been published
in the magazine of the French Entomologic
Society, in collaboration with Dr. Thierry
Deuve and Dr. Olivier Montreuil - see Pascal’s
illustration below:
At the same time, he has written a number of
articles and notes in several French entomology
publications, while continuing his field research
with other entomologists such as Olivier
Décobert. This remains his favorite activity.
In March 2009 the association, struck by
the economic crisis, had to let him go. Since
then he has been trying to establish himself
as an independent painter and illustrator. In
order to develop his business, he does a lot
of networking and organizes exhibitions. At
the same time, he continues to teach drawing
classes for several associations. His greatest
dream is to become a full-time scientific
illustrator. This contribution to Scarabs might
be a first step. Already a father and awaiting
a second child, this project has become a
necessity. Pascal is open to and grateful for all
your proposals.