I think I will always consider myself a student.

When I started painting, I kinda thought “When I find my style, then I will be set for the rest of my life”. It’s been 20 years now, and although I am more confident in my painting, I have come to understand that an artist’s style is ever flowing and changing, because our life is ever flowing and changing. I am very well aware of the abundant wealth of knowledge that is out there for me to discover, that is why it is important to me to stay open and curious.

We’re so very lucky today to have access to a multitude of teachers and artists, right at our fingertips. Watching how others paint can open our minds to what is possible and inspire us to go in unexpected directions. Having a space where we can find these resources is why I created my Resource Hub on my new website The Oil Painting Hub, which will only grow with time. I invite you to go check it out. Use the filter to look for specific categories or subjects – books, videos, colour, techniques, drawing, composition, stores…

Happy exploration!

P.S.: Keep an eye out for my upcoming Oil Painting for Beginners course, or better yet, subscribe to the newsletter to stay in the loop.

I remember wandering around through the isles of art supply stores, bewildered, not really knowing what I needed, and bought stuff that did not do what I expected or that I ended up never using – sounds familiar?

After years of striving to understand what all of these different bottles, tubes and brushes were for, I ended up creating an oil painting course for beginners – the course that I wanted to take when I was starting out!

I am presently working hard to make this course available online very soon. These are just some of the questions I’ll be tackling:

• What is gesso and why would I need it?
• When would I use underpainting? (what’s underpainting?!)
• What is the best way to transfer my drawing?
• Is oil painting dangerous/toxic?
• What’s the difference between Student grade and Artist grade oil paints?
• Why are some paint tubes so much more expensive than others?
• Why shouldn’t linseed oil be used straight from the bottle?
• What’s different about alkyd painting mediums like Liquin?
• Why do some colors on a painting sometimes become chalky and dull?

If these questions resonate with you and you think learning the basics would be of great help, then this course is for you.

By the end, you’ll have a good understanding of oil painting materials and how to properly use them – from how to choose and prepare your surfaces, to understanding the mysteries of painting mediums, to how to varnish your paintings. A lot of useful information and suggestions which will help you make clear choices, not only in your purchases, but in your creativity as well.

Subcribe to my newsletter to stay in the loop!

Finally!

After 2 failed attempts (almost 3!) I am very happy to present to you my latest painting.

This portrait was a challenge! Not much room for error… a millimetre off on the upper lip or the brow line and the expression is completely different. On top of that, I decided to try something different: to work on paper mounted on wood panel. The surface is super interesting for portraiture, specially for me who does not like working on canvas. However, this surface requires the use of stiffer brushes and if you make a mistake, correcting it is not easy.

Now that the painting is safely in the hands of its new owners, I can now focus on my next projects, and one in particular that I hope to share with you soon!

To be continued…

Finally, my new site is now online!

After many weeks working on it (yes, I did it myself with a little help from my boyfriend), I finally have a responsive site that doesn’t look like crap on tablets and smartphones.

I also revised all of my courses, that I will be giving at my workshop again. I invite you to go check them out!

And I’m taking this opportunity to show off a painting that I did last year during an awesome weekend with friends. It was a little impromptu painting session with another painter and, looking for a subject, I decided to paint the beautiful Norma, with a picture that I took that morning. This is my first Alla Prima portrait and I completed it within 2 hours!! That is exceptional for me, when I sometimes take years to finish a painting…

Can’t wait to see what I will do next  

I have two new paintings to show you!

The first made from a photograph taken by the very wonderful Marie-Josée Dupont who was kind enough to give me permission to reproduce it. I wanted to practice doing portraits with a different technique and to my surprise, I was able to do this portrait in just 3 days, which is exceptional for me!! And the results are better than I expected : )

The second painting comes from a tiny family photo.

It’s my mom when she was 3 years old and her father, my grand-father. I love this image!! I had chills when I saw it (a sure sign of a potential painting) and I had a very clear idea of how to proceed too : to work on a white surface and paint the shadows. It was absolutely delightful to do this painting for my mom!!

From Wednesday November 27 to Sunday December 1st, I will be participating in the sixth edition of the Collectif d’art de la Pointe Valaine. Come meet artists from the region in this exhibit high in color and emotion

Centre communautaire et culturel de la Pointe-Valaine
85, rue d’Oxford,
Otterburn Park

Wednesday November 27      7 pm to 9 pm
Thursday November 28   7 pm to 9 pm
Friday November 29      7 pm to 9 pm
Saturday November 30      noon to 6 pm
Sunday December 1st      10 am to 3 pm – Brunch with the artists from 10 am to 1 pm

Vernissage Thursday November 28 at 6 pm

Welcome!!

Her is my brand new painting “Hélène avait 4 ans” (Helen was 4 years old).

I did this painting from a picture I found in one of my grand-mother’s shoe boxes; it was taken in 1958 and today, Helen is now retired.

Interpreting  a black and white photo was a good challenge and I really enjoyed doing the horse.

The painting is already sold!

From wednesday november 30th to sunday december 4th, I will be participating in the fouth edition of the Collectif d’art de la Pointe Valaine. Come meet  artists from the region in this exhibit high in color and emotion

Centre communautaire et culturel de la Pointe-Valaine
85, rue d’Oxford,
Otterburn Park

wednesday november 30th      8pm to 10pm
thursday december 1st     7pm to 9pm
friday december 2nd      7pm to 9pm
saturday dember 3rd      noon to 6pm
sunday deceber 4th      10am to 4pm, Brunch with the artists

Vernissage wednesday november 30th at 7pm

Welcome!!

This will be my first time at La Fête des Arts which will take place from Friday September 30th until Sunday October 2nd in Saint-Basile-Le-Grand.

I will have a brand new painting to show and my reproductions will be available at the boutique.

Come encourage the artists!!

Centre civique Bernard-Gagnon
6 rue Bella-Vista,
Saint-Basile-le-Grand

Friday September 30th 7:30 pm to 10 pm Vernissage
Saturday October 1st 10 am to 7 pm
Sunday October 2nd 10 am to 5 pm