There are some artists who make you stop scrolling. Not with noise or flash, but with stillness. Maëlys Chay is one of them.  

I first came across her work during a late-night art scroll. And something about her illustrations made me pause. Maybe it was the softness of her lines or the way her scenes felt real like someone had quietly walked into a moment and gently turned it into a drawing.

A Little About Maëlys

Maëlys Chay is a French illustrator and photographer who creates visual stories inspired by daily life. She lives between Paris and the south of France, and her work reflects that contrast, the quiet buzz of a city, and the slowness of a sunlit afternoon.

Alongside illustration, she also explores film photography, capturing people and spaces in natural light. You can often find both mediums side by side on her Instagram and website, each adding depth to the other.

Why Maëlys Chay Illustrations Stay With You

What I like most about Maëlys Chay’s illustrations is their quiet, honest tone. There’s no need to dramatize or explain. Her work simply observes, moments of slowness, light, still air, and puts them down with care. . A woman looking out a window, a table set for tea, a walk through fall leaves. They feel like a kind of emotional pause, and maybe that’s why they move me. Her illustrations feel like a place where you can rest your eyes, and your heart.

Some of My Favorites

• Her sketches of people waiting on benches or lying on the grass

• Small kitchen scenes, handwritten notes, windows left open

• And how she draws humans with a certain emotional distance that still feels deeply personal

Maëlys Chay’s Photography: Memory in Frame

Maëlys also shoots on film. Her photographs have that natural warmth that makes you feel like you have been there, even if you haven’t. The kind of images that don’t ask to be liked, they just exist, quietly beautiful.

You can find her photography and prints for sale on her website. Her Paris work has city corners, markets, and people walking slowly. Her south-of-France shots feel like summer holidays you forgot you remembered.

Where to Find Her Work

Want to see more? You can explore her illustrations on her website/portfolio and on her Instagram. 

Whether you’re an art enthusiast, a design student, or just someone who likes slow and honest visuals, Maëlys Chay’s illustrations remind us to look closer, feel gently, and not rush through beauty.