Immediately after graduation Dubuffet rejected the time he spent as a student claiming that his studies were "half-baked" and worthless and moved to Paris to study painting. After arriving in Paris, Dubuffet studied painting at the Académie Julian but soon became unhappy and frustrated with the academic training offered to him and he left after only six months of attendance to paint on his own. Dubuffet purposefully remained distant from Parisian art society. He was quoted as saying, "Personally, I believe very much in values of savagery; I mean: instinct, passion, mood, violence, madness." Savage seems to be an appropriate way to describe Dubuffet's work. Like a savage, Dubuffet often shocked society, though he did so purposely. From the start, his attitude was anti-art and anti-culture. He believed that intellectuals were the enemies of art, and he refused to be restrained by such labels as "dadaist," "surrealist," or "futuristic." He strove to erase all categories of art. Furthermore, Dubuffet enjoyed reading poetry and often preferred the social company of writers to the company of fellow artists who he felt were lost in the corruption of the art world. Dubuffet also joined the army for a brief stint and from time to time traveled to far-off places such as Buenos Aires, where he attempted to work odd jobs and live like the "common man."

In 1925, Dubuffet returned to Le Havre where he met his first wife Paulette Bret, whom he married and had a daughter with two years later. In 1930, Dubuffet moved to Paris and started a small wine business, once again claiming to prefer the simple life of the grounded "common man". He believed that this sort of lifestyle would have a positive effect on his artwork, as he considered the commoner to be much more in touch with art, poetry and all creativity than any academic. He set out to amuse the average man through his own artwork, which he continued to do on the side. A few years later, things began to fall apart for Dubuffet. In 1933, he separated from his wife, and he soon became bored with the family business. He dissolved his part in it in 1934 to concentrate on his search for a popular art form that could be grasped by all.

In 1935, Dubuffet married his second wife, Emilie Carlu and began experimenting with different art media, such as wood and plaster. In addition, he found a passion for portrait painting. In these works of art, Dubuffet depersonalized most of his subjects, comically exaggerating proportions and characteristics. His artwork however, had received no public attention and no success up to this point as the critics found it very hard to understand. They saw his painting as crude and childish and compared his work to graffiti done in cement. Dubuffet soon became disenchanted and begun to doubt his artistic talents. He returned to the family business in 1937, put his brushes down and swore off painting forever.

In 1944, at forty-three years of age, Dubuffet held his first solo art exhibition at the Galérie Rene Drouin in Paris to mixed reviews. This seemed to add fuel to the creative fire as Dubuffet began painting and experimenting with various mediums at an alarming rate. Three years later in 1947 he had his first exhibition in the United States in New York City.

In 1949, Dubuffet once again began painting landscapes. His landscape paintings during this stage were called the “Grotesque Landscapes” and are marked by free execution and childlike charm. Dubuffet loved to paint spontaneously, and used light colours with his landscapes instead of the blacks and grays used in his portraits. From the mid-1950s until his death, Dubuffet took part in various retrospective art exhibits around the world. The exhibits showcased some of his best works, from his perceptive portraits to his intuitive landscapes. He also worked on many sculptures throughout the 1960’s. Dubuffet often said that the only way to get noticed is to do things the wrong way and in so doing, new insights can be gained into the characteristics of old, common things. Dubuffet continued to work, and though he still created what he wanted with his rebellious defiance, he gained worldwide attention and the critical praise that had always eluded him up until his death, which occurred in Paris on May 12, 1985.