Artist Profile
“The value of an artist is measured not only through the quality of his work, but equally through the degree of love and perseverance he puts into it.” – Cécile Fortier Keays.
A painter’s career that spans some forty years! With parents that attended Québec’s School of Fine-Arts at the same time as Jean-Paul Lemieux, Dallaire and Paul Lacroix. Jacques Hamel has basked in an artistic universe and has been drawing since the age of 5, always curious about his environment. His hand is firm and steadily develops. Decors and happy atmospheres parade in his head like so many Polaroid pictures instantly revealing themselves to the photographer.
Influenced by his parents’ way of life, but largely diverted by them from the perspective of an artistic career, he nevertheless enrolls, in his a late teens, at the Québec School of Fine-Arts which will later become the Laval University Art School. Somewhat disappointed and embittered at not being able to learn in the manner he sees fit the rudiments and basics of painting, he turns his attention towards the theories and knowledge of graphic design. Antoine Dumas and Claude A. Simard will be his distinguished professors.
Parc des Gouverneurs, 16 x 20 in
Text by Michel Bois
Jacques Hamel is represented by the prestigious Galerie Douce-Passion 42A, rue Notre-Dame, Québec.
The value of an artist is measured not only through the quality…
Great Encounter
“In a painting I look for truth, sentiment and solace.” – Marc Grandbois
From the first handshake I am seduced by the authenticity of the painter. In person, he exudes the aloofness and laughing manner of the greats. The attitude of those in the know, who paint to transmit their knowledge with a blend of sensitivity and sensuality they spread all over the canvas with confident gestures, unbridled, without any constraints.
The obvious force that emanates from the artist’s works attests of his passion for painting. Fulfilled, happy, passionate and confident, the man is imbued with beneficent humility.
For Marc Grandbois, as for all the great painters, painting is everything but reasoned, it is something felt, imperceptibly, a game of the mind, a combination of timid and bold gestures. But for Grandbois, the feeling is intense; should he find inspiration in a woodsy location, he must immediately satisfy his desire to express himself on canvas.
Souvenir d’Essex, MA , 20 x 16 in
Text by Michel Bois
Marc Grandbois is represented by galerie Douce Passion, 42A, Notre-Dame Street, Québec Qc. 418 648-9292
His works can also be found in Alberta at the Stephen Lowe Gallery, Calgary. His works are also part of public and private collections in Canada and abroad.
From the first handshake I am seduced by the authenticity of the painter…
On Exhibit
“If everyone laid a flower on the path of life, it would certainly embellish the human experience.” – Michel Bois
Viewing Lyse Marsan’s works is an experience that permeates not only one’s memory but one’s whole being as she dispenses so much energy via the voluptuousness of her colours and the sensuality and subtlety of her narrative.
The artist is passionate, sharply and intensely so. She is constantly exploring new possibilities that painting offers; this is how, after a career that spans more than forty years, she has created an extensive personal, sustained and re-energizing pictorial body of work. To that end, she first studied with teachers in private workshops then in recognized schools in many European countries. Which won her a gold medal awarded by France in 2000 for the quality of her creation and her commitment to the promotion of visual arts. Needless to say, her perseverance, her abilities and her knowledge have widely opened doors for her, here in this country, with provincial and national agencies, and internationally.
Au parfum d’un fruit de la passion, 24 x 24 in
Text by Michel Bois
Lyse Marsan is represented by Galerie Douce-Passion, 42A, Notre-Dame Street, Québec. 418-684-9292
Viewing Lyse Marsan’s works is an experience…
Portrait
“The most beautiful of jobs is living off one’s passion.” – François Salvat de Montfort
Twenty-seven years ago, France Marcotte was, rather matter-of-factly, visiting an art gallery when she suddenly fell in love with a Normand Hudon painting. It depicted a priest enjoying himself while sliding down a snowy slope with children.
“I had a big smile on my face,” fondly recalls France Marcotte, still under the charm of her first artwork acquisition. “It was all just perfect, including the respectful attitude of the gallery owner while he declared his contagious admiration for Normand Hudon’s creation. I had no knowledge about art. I started reading Magazin’Art and hastily visiting galleries.
Bruno Côté, Canadian Dreamscape, oil, 24 x 36 in
Text by Michel Bois
Galerie Douce Passion, 42A, rue Notre-Dame, Québec
418-648-9292
Galerie Québec Art, 40, rue Notre-Dame, Québec et 27, rue Notre-Dame (Place Royale), Québec
418-692-8200
Twenty-seven years ago, France Marcotte was, rather matter-of-factly…
Painting a Country
“A work of art is a suspension of time” – Bonnard
It is highly unlikely that one could encounter such a unique creative path in our complicated era when an artist must please his mother, his father, art collectors, local reporters as well as officials from the Ministry of culture. Hence, 86 years old Jacques Jourdain may well be the last romantic artist of this time in the field of visual arts.
Born in 1931 in Three-Rivers, he graduated from the Québec School of Fine Arts in 1956. He was a favorite student of Jean Paul Lemieux who instilled in him the essence of art and imparted his expert advice. He first encouraged him to pursue his creative endeavours, then urged him to look for ways to improve his purely personal approach while cautioning him about possible pitfalls, fleeting fashions and the tortuous art market.
Ohé ohé au sucre, 32 x 48 in
Text by Michel Bois
Jacques Jourdain is represented by Galerie Douce Passion
42 A, rue Notre-Dame, Québec. 418-648-9292
“A work of art is a suspension of time” – Bonnard…