David Sala

A true creator of worlds, David Sala stands out for the evocative power of his drawings. Featuring magical colors and finely crafted settings, his children’s illustrations—with their dreamlike compositions, rendered in oil paint—transport viewers into the heart of dreams and legends. The artist approaches comic art with a more instinctive style using graphite and watercolor, playing with composition, rhythm, and a limited color palette. He displays great virtuosity with motifs that coexist harmoniously in his drawings, in the style of Gustav Klimt. David Sala succeeds in conveying the full intensity of the narrative through imagery, creating striking atmospheres. 

Today, David Sala ranks among the most sought-after contemporary French artists in the fields of illustration and auteur comic art, with his market value driven by the rarity of his original pages and the exceptional pictorial quality of his artwork. A page from The Chess Player was sold for 8,710 € at a Daniel Maghen auction in 2023. An illustration created for the deluxe edition of The Chess Player fetched 8,450 €, while a large cover illustration sold for 13,000 € at a Daniel Maghen auction in 2022.

To preserve your works on paper, we recommend that you never expose them to direct light, as UV rays can damage the mediums used. Paintings made with pastel or charcoal require special care to avoid rubbing.
We advise you to display them away from windows, and to use frames made from pH-neutral conservation materials and “Museum” glass with anti-UV and anti-reflective treatment. If you prefer to keep your works unframed, we recommend storing them flat, in drawing cartons, with sheets of pH-neutral permanent paper in between. Keep them away from light and humidity.

Born in 1973 in Décines, David Sala studied for five years at the Émile Cohl School in Lyon before beginning his career as an illustrator of book covers and children’s picture books.  He made his mark in comic art in 2000 with the Replay trilogy, created with Jorge Zentner, and went on to confirm his talent with the series Nicolas Eymerich, Inquisitor. As a writer, artist and colorist, he has developed a unique visual universe that blends painting, storytelling and imagination. Alongside his work in comic art, he has created numerous acclaimed children’s books, including La Colère de Banshee, La Belle et la Bête, and Hansel et Gretel.  He has enjoyed widespread success with his literary adaptations, notably Stefan Zweig’s The Chess Player and, more recently, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Complete biography.