In 1927, he performs his military service in Tunisia where he discovers a very pure light that he captures in a series of watercolors. A crystalline purity of the light, which later emanates from his paintings.

Stained glass equally fascinates him because of the way the light refracts through the antique pieces of glass set in a network of lead. He designs and creates the pattern for several works in stained glass, "Afrique" in 1936, "Saint Ide" and "le Curé d'Ars" in 1938 for the church of Colembert (Pas-de-Calais), and last a stained glass window featuring Egyptian symbolism.