Category

Artists

Louise Naud

By | Artists

Over the past 20 years, the imagination of illustrator and painter Louise Naud has entered the privacy of thousands of homes. Her works of art with sceneries and faceless characters carry us to her playful and colorful universe.
A self-taught artist of French Canadian origin, Louise lived an extremely joyful childhood in Barraute, a village in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region in northwestern Quebec. A region renowned for its lakes and rivers where dozens of mining shafts reaching out to the sky to extract rich minerals from its fertile gold bearing earth where the forest ignites just before the twilight, where the northern lights dance on a star filled sky, where we can enjoy the long hot summer days as well as the rigorous winter nights… It is in this rich and colourful universe of wonderful landscapes packed with heart warming ambiances that filled Louise’s childhood memories, which joyfully inspired several scenes that she so cleverly brings back to life with her paint brush.

“I have often been asked why my characters are created faceless. For me, you cannot define a person by his appearance. There is a story behind every human being. To define a person, you have to look beyond his face, you have to see his soul. I believe that my faceless characters allow people to find themselves, to define themselves, to revive memories and sometimes even to create a story of their own. These faceless characters have always been my way of inventing them“

Au cours des 20 dernières années, l’imaginaire de la dessinatrice et artiste peintre Louise Naud est entré dans l’intimité de milliers de foyers. Ses œuvres d’art aux décors et personnages sans visage nous transportent dans son univers enjoué et coloré.
Artiste autodidacte d’origine canadienne française, Louise a vécu une enfance des plus heureuses dans le petit village de Barraute situé dans la région de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue au nord du Québec. Une région réputée pour ses lacs et ses rivières où des dizaines de chevalements miniers s’étirent dans le ciel pour extraire de riches minéraux de ces sols à saveur aurifère, où la forêt s’embrase juste avant le crépuscule, où les aurores boréales dansent sur un tapis d’étoiles, où il fait bon profiter de chaudes et longues journées d’été tout comme de rigoureux hivers… C’est donc de cet univers riche et coloré, de ces paysages immenses et de ces ambiances chaleureuses que proviennent plusieurs scènes qu’elle fait revivre sous son pinceau.

« On m’a souvent demandé pourquoi mes personnages sont créés sans visage. Pour moi, on ne peut définir une personne par son apparence. Derrière chaque être humain, il y a une histoire. Pour définir une personne, il faut regarder au-delà de son visage, il faut voir son âme. Je crois que mes personnages sans visage permettent aux gens de se retrouver, de se définir, de raviver des souvenirs et parfois même de se créer une histoire bien à eux. Ces personnages sans visage, c’est ma façon depuis toujours de les inventer »

Wendy Trethewey

By | Artists

An international portraitist, Wendy Trethewey has painted hundreds of commissions for the military and institutions. Her private clients include adults, children, and pets - particularly dogs.
Trethewey's work is held in private and public collections throughout Canada, USA, Australia and England. Her pieces are represented in the permanent collection of the Canadian War Museum, amongst the other work of living artists featured in the museum's oral history.
Trethewey is a Premier Pastelist, winner of the highest award of the Pastel Society of Canada.
She is also a miniaturist whose work has won Best of Show.

"I stand for all that is beautiful in the world and see myself as a recorder of people, animals, landscapes, and interiors. Lately, I have been concentrating on pet portraits. It is very rewarding to see the joy my portraits bring their owners."

Une portraitiste internationale, Wendy Threthewey peignais des centaines de commissions pour la militaire et autres institutions. Ses clientèles privé inclus les adultes, enfants et animaux de compagnies - particulièrement des chiens. Ses œuvres sont exposés dans des collections publiques et privés tout autour du Canada, les États-Unis, Australie et l'Angleterre.
Ses pièces sont représentées dans la collection permanente du Musée canadienne de la Guerre parmi les autres artistes vivants, présente dans l'histoire orale du musée. Thethewey est une Pasteliste Première, gagnant de la récompense de la plus haute signifiance de la Société Pastel du Canada.
Elle est aussi une miniaturiste qui a gagné Best of Show.

Jérôme Cordier

By | Artists

Born in Belgium in 1960, Jérôme Cordier now lives in Ottawa, Canada. Over the last thirty years, his work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and exhibits. His work is in private collections in Canada, Austria, Belgium, France, and the United States.
All Cordier's art is photography-based. In the past he used a 35 mm film camera and the darkroom to create selenium-toned fiber based prints. Now he produces high resolution scans of those same negatives and prints with archival quality inks on fine art and photo-base paper. Cordier uses the computer to manipulate the digital image into the "real" or his "surreal" vision.

"Although my portfolio is diverse, over the years "the Nude" has been a special subject. The body and art are synonymous. The French poet Paul Valery noted that the nude is for the artist what love is for the poet."

Né en Belgique en 1960, Jérôme Cordier vit à Ottawa (Canada).
Depuis les trente dernières années, il a été publié dans des magazines et journaux et a participé à des expositions. Les oeuvres de Cordier se retrouvent également dans des collections privées en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. La photographie est à la base de tout l'art de Cordier. Dans le passé, il utilisait un appareil photo 35 mm et la chambre noire pour produire des épreuves virées au sélénium sur papier argentique baryté. Depuis quelques années, il crée de somptueux tirages photographiques d'après un balayage numérique de ces mêmes négatifs, qu'il imprime ensuite avec un encre à pigment sur du papier de qualité conservation. Ce procédé offre une grande longévité pour la réalisation de tirages d'exposition ou d'art. Cordier utilise l'ordinateur pour manipuler l'image selon sa conception unique du "réel" et sa vision "surréaliste".

"Au sein de mon portfolio varié, au fil des ans, Le Nu a occupé une place importante. Le Nu -- le corps et son image-- est synonyme de l'art et comme le déclarait le poète français Paul Valéry: Le Nu est pour l'artiste ce que l'amour est au poète."

Eliane Saheurs

By | Artists

Eliane Saheurs was born in Thun, Switzerland. Before realizing that painting was the challenge for which she was searching, Saheurs did photographic work, including studies of landforms, an influence now evident in her painting.
Saheurs began art studies in 1985 at Algonquin College, Ottawa, and continued at the Ottawa School of Art to 1995, working mainly with Michel Savage, Blair Sharpe, Kathy Gillis, Jeff Stellick and Susan Feindel. She also studied with Frank Webb from Pittsburgh, Lynn Forgach from New York, Toshihisa Fudezuka from Tokyo and Virginia Cobb from Santa Fe. and completed a residency at the Contemporary Artists Center, North Adams, MA. She has worked in New Mexico, France and Crete.
Saheurs has lived in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1984.

Eliane Saheurs est née en Thun, Suisse. Avant qu'elle s'est rendu compte que la peinture était le défi qu'elle cherche, Saheurs faisait de la photographie, incluant les études des formes du relief, une influence maintenant claire dans ses peintures.
Saheurs a commencé ses études d'art l'an 1985 au Collège Algonquin, Ottawa et a continué à l'École d'Art Ottawa jusqu'au 1995, travaillant principalement avec Michel Savage, Blair Sharpe, Kathy Gills, Jeff Stellic et Susan Feindel. Elle a aussi étudié avec Frank Webb du Pittsburgh, Lynn Forgach de New York, Toshihisa Fudezuka de Tokyo et Virginia Cobb de Santa Fe. et a complété un internat au Centre des Artistes Contemporaine, Noth Adams, MA. Elle a travaillé en Nouveau Mexique, France et Crète.
Elle vivait à Ottawa depuis 1984.

Angela Verlaeckt Clark

By | Artists

Angela is an Ottawa-based, international, multidisciplinary fine artist and poet.Living in Canada, the UK and the USA, Angela’s life has always been one of movement, both geographically and artistically. A passion for sculpting led her from clay to stone and from representational to abstract; from the Maison du Potier in Québec City, to the Ottawa School of Art, to the Sculpture Academy in London, UK and ultimately to a residency in Italy with a master in 2004.
A Canadian abstract artist, she produces enduring, tactile, elegant stone sculptures. Angela senses a deep past in her ancient stones and though both artist and stone have separate memories, her objective is to bring them into dialogue during the sculpting process. During that dialogue when she feels the stone’s tangible energy and power, a rare bond is forged. This most compelling component of her art inspires a poem to complement each sculpture.

"I believe that carefully crafted objects have the power to inspire, elevate and they retain the pulse of their maker."

Congratulations to Angela for her feature in Costco Connection!

Renée Gagné

By | Artists

Renée Gagné was born and raised in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. From a young age, her daily life was filled with art. Through her mother’s diverse ventures in painting, wood sculpting, macramé, ceramics and sewing, Gagné was instilled with an immense interest and appreciation of art.
After completing her degrees in nursing and psychology, Gagné returned to painting, taking workshops in oil, watercolor and acrylic. In addition to jewellery-making, her passion for painting offers an escape; through the precision and attention to detail required of her practice, the stresses of work and daily life fall away. Her artistic journey has been one of experimentation, but focused on realising her own unique charm.
In late 2019, Gagné’s first solo juried exhibition at Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans met with great success! Clearly discernable, Gagné’s style evokes an appreciation for beauty, vibrant colour, and whimsical composition. She looks forward to retirement, so she may devote more time to her art, and perfecting her style. Her goal, “is to evoke an emotion and a smile by the magical beauty of the bright colors in my paintings.”

Edmond Léger

By | Artists

"Music has been an emotion that I have nurtured all my life. There has always been a duality in my music. First, there is the mathematical grammar that allows me to join notes together to achieve a logical sequence. Second, there is the unexplainable connection that comes when the grammar evolves into a discussion of thoughts, a sense of being.
Being mostly self-taught as far as my music and painting are concerned, I
continue to discuss these thoughts with my abstracts. There is always a rhythm that occurs while I paint. Musical notes appear as if I am writing a score, playing, painting the grammar on my canvas. Improvisation allows the logical to become liberated.
Music is a bridge that we have been exploring for thousands of years. This
bridge between knowing and understanding is what I try to achieve with color. It is
not the need to do that I wish to explore but more the need to feel this connection, share my music in a most intimate way. My paintings are a reflection of my improvisation, my connection with the unexplainable and the grammar. This place that I understand without being able to explain it but rather having no need to..."

Arlette Francière

By | Artists

"I have always been passionate about poetry and art. My career as a translator fulfills my literary interest. Art became even more central to my life when I studied Art History at Concordia University in Montreal. One course dealt with a variety of techniques, and students had to copy a work of art in each medium. That hands-on experience was a turning point, and I have been painting ever since. I have studied with Alfred Pinsky, Leonard Gerbrandt and Andrea Mossop, among others.
I am attracted to landscape painting, especially to the work of the Expressionists. Inspired by memories of dramatic landscapes, I let strong colours, bold shapes and intriguing rhythms guide me. In the process, my paintings become inner landscapes that express states of mind, or emotions, instead of reproducing an external landscape.
I enjoy working in oil, acrylic and charcoal, but I have a strong affinity for watercolour and the ‘wet in wet’ technique. It harks back to my fascination as a child creating soap bubbles between my fingers and marvelling at the patterns of swirling colours. That same wonder is there for me when I paint in watercolour.
My predominant and most characteristic theme is abstracted landscape, but my work also includes portraits, flowers and pure abstract art. I am a colourist who always tries to embody the mystery behind the façade.
I have had numerous solo and group shows and my work is in private collections in Canada and abroad. My paintings have been used on the cover of eighteen books, most of them collections of poetry."

Renée Butler

By | Artists

Renée Butler was born and raised in Trenton, Nova Scotia, and now reside between Québec and Newfoundland, moving seasonally. She is largely a self-taught artist, but has, over the years, studied with several other artists.
Butler's art resides in many private collections in Canada, including the NL Government’s private collection, as well as in Europe. Notably, her work was featured on CBC’s television program Land & Sea!

“I love light and the effects it has on the most mundane objects. You can take the most ordinary thing, and with the correct light you can make it mesmerizing. I try to absorb as much detail as possible when looking at everyday objects and I especially love painting still-life's. I enjoy bringing them to life on my canvas and hope to capture the beauty that I witness for everyone else to experience as well.”

Theresa Eisenbarth

By | Artists

Theresa Eisenbarth is a unique visual storyteller. She uses her unusual acrylic visual art to tell the elusive stories of Canadian neighbourhoods and old communities. These outdoor urbanscapes and prairie spaces have diverse histories and often go unnoticed. Her artwork incorporates the sights, sounds and aromas of today, mixed with a re-imaging of those impressions from the past. Her use of vibrant colours, and of non-traditional materials, brings an arresting quality to her paintings.
Theresa is a full time artist based in Medicine Hat, AB. She grew up in
the historic River Flats neighbourhood, and has spent her artistic career capturing the places she remembers as a child. Theresa studied visual arts at the Medicine Hat College and received a B.F.A. from the University of Calgary.
Her paintings are in many private and corporate collections across Alberta. They have been featured in the Federation of Canadian Artists Group Exhibits, are sold locally in Medicine Hat and now, Ottawa.

"Vivid, bold colours inspire me and allow me to re-imagine these spaces. I entice my viewers to take a second
look by embedding stories into stories, adding household objects like tinfoil, string, and door hardware to create substance and texture on the paint surface”