L’Ange-Gardien, Quebec
Originally from Nova Scotia, I’ve been living in Quebec since 1978.  By profession an interior designer, I first discovered watercolors during my design training as a tool to render perspective drawings.
I teach interior decoration and visual presentation at the Marie-Rollet professional training Centre in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.  Among other subjects, I teach sketching, perspective drawing, graphic design and lettering techniques, as well as interior decorating.
home about me fresh paint gallery 1 gallery 2 gallery 3 resumé activities français With time, this art form became too limiting. In 1999, under the supervision of Paul-Yvan Gagnon, IAF, I once again took up watercolor as my main outlet for artistic expression. I’m an introspective person; I’m drawn towards close-up representations of detailed subjects. I like to draw the eye of the spectator to details that often go unnoticed, and reveal the beauty that can be found in the textures and shapes of the everyday objects around us. Just as magnificent landscapes can be seen by looking up, wonders can be found by closely examining a feather, tree bark, or the textures and motifs of old peeling paint that chips off to reveal weathered wood. Watercolor doesn’t forgive; before touching brush to paper, I study my subject in order to get to know it intimately. I visualize the finished piece before beginning to paint. Preliminary sketches in pencil and in color permit me to work out all the problems of composition, contrast, light and shade. I can then concentrate on the actual painting and find joy in seeing the colors and shapes form on the paper. I use Arches paper, made of pure cotton fibres. The irregular texture of this particular paper permits me to render fine details, while suggesting a subtle texture underneath the paint. I work with fine quality watercolors, principally Holbein, Winsor and Newton, and Daler-Rowney. I prefer single-pigment paints with a high permanence rating. I often obtain the color I’m looking for by layering different colors, rather than mixing a color on my pallet, to take advantage of the transparency of watercolor. For example, a complementary color can be used as an undercoat to render a shadow rather than using a darker overcoat; in this way the colors seem to come from inside the object.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve experimented different forms of creation and artistic expression.  For 25 years, I created Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter eggs, participating in several symposiums and expositions.  Creating Pysanky allowed me to develop the precision necessary to do detailed work.  Also, since a Pysanka can take up to twelve hours to complete, I learned patience !  The number of possible colors used in this technique is quite limited, and it is necessary to carefully plan the juxtaposition of the colors in order to achieve a pleasing harmony and rhythm.
A few of my Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs)
contact links
 
Photo : Pierre LaRue