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International Art Treasures Web Magazine April 2004 |
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Nature's Scarlet Weave
Taking a risk to live one's dream can pay off in many ways as a learning opportunity and bringing success beyond one's dreams. That perhaps best describes a recent addition to the Toronto art scene artist Yves Fournier. Yves explains the creation of his first painting. "I had a friend who was an artist who had done some paintings. I was visiting her and she mentioned to me that she was getting back into painting." Yves continues, "She was doing some landscapes along the St. Lawrence River and asked if I wanted to accompany her. I said yes and mentioned to her that for the last twenty or twenty-five years I wanted to paint. She took out a canvas and a couple of paintbrushes and that's how it started in September of 2002. I always had an interest in art going back to when I was 8 or 9 years old. I actually won a couple of contests when I was young." "My first painting was called St. Lawrence and it was painted just on the outskirts of Cornwall. It took me a couple of weeks to do and I gave it to my mother as a thank you for everything that she's done for me in the past. She has it hanging in her living room." In a very short time Yves has been able to show his work at Praxis Gallery, Mitzi's Sister and Arts on King, with upcoming shows at Zelda's Groovy Room and the Leamington Art Gallery. ExhibitionsMitzi's Sister Restaurant & GalleryNetworking is a key to Yves style. "Mitzi's Sister is a bar / restaurant that a lot of artists [enjoy]. Christine, my partner, and I go there quite a bit. They have the best fries in Toronto. I had a conversation with [the Curator] and she had an opening for the month of February. I actually sold a painting before I had the chance to hang it up. It was a good experience to do a show in a different venue, a restaurant versus an art gallery." In April the featured artists at Mitzi's Sister will be Gary Taylor and Arleen McCallum. Arts on King
"It's all about networking and meeting people. I happened to go in and talk to Paula, who is the curator of the gallery. It's one of the biggest opportunities since I've been here in Toronto. I have two of my landscapes there. One of them is called Bryson's Beach and the other one is called The Climb."
Yves describes both of his pieces currently on display at Arts on King. "Bryson's Beach is a painting where there is a lighthouse and it's on the shores of the Ocean. The title comes from my youngest son, whose name is Bryson, and he loves nature like I do. I had seen a movie [with an] emphasis on a lighthouse that had flashbacks to this lighthouse. One day I sat in front of a canvas and I decided to paint a lighthouse."
"The Climb reflects a lot of my life because there are a lot of uphill climbs that I had to do in my life. When I put my mind to it I did very well whether it was in business, sports, [or my] personal life. I enjoy a good challenge. I think with me that painting is a lot about my philosophy about how I look at life,... to me that's the climb." Zelda's Groovy Room GalleryStarting April 19th, 2004
A different gallery sometimes allows another side of the artist to shine. "There is a series that I did on seduction that ... I am going to show [at Zelda's Groovy Room]. The Dancers is a figurative abstract [with] a lot of lively colors. You could compare those paintings to the eighties where you would go to the discotheques and everybody was dressed up and they were having a blast." He adds, "Whereas when I do landscapes it's a little bit more conservative. Zelda's is an opportunity for me to have some fun and show some paintings that are not as traditional as what you would see at a normal gallery. The location is great and people have been really great. Geoffrey Lessard who is the art manager, has given me a great opportunity to show my art in Toronto. [For] the amount of time that I have been here I've had some really good luck and met some great people like Geoffrey, Paula and the people at Zelda's. I'll be there for a month." Leamington Art GalleryYves is currently preparing for his first solo show scheduled for the late summer. "It's in Leamington, Ontario which is about fifteen minutes from Windsor. It's the most Southern part of Canada. That will be on the 4th of August until after Labor Day. It's going to be called Nature's Scarlet Weave. My partner's family is originally from there and we just happened to visit the art gallery one day last year and [spoke with ] the curator. I'm hoping to have at least 30 pieces to exhibit." "I never thought that it was such an emotional experience ...trying to take what you live and transfer it onto a canvas. The thrust of this work is going to be from one day that I spent in September2003 at Point Pelee National Park which is at the most southern part of Canada. It was probably the most beautiful day I have ever spent outside. I had previously painted 'plein air' and a friend of mine suggested taking pictures. It's always hard to recapture the image in your head. "
"I photographed a few trees with patches of red leaves. We are going to have trees, waves and sunsets, what I call nature's scarlet weave. Point Pelee is beautiful and breathtaking. In the Pelee Point painting I tried to reflect the movement in the leaves and the bright red colors. I'm looking forward to doing the other paintings."
Childhood memories can also be used to draw out creativity. Yves explains "Hear the Wind comes from when I was a child. My mother's side of the family were from Quebec. We would go and visit her brothers and sisters. They always had a lot of snow and my Uncles had these old skidoos and would take us out for rides on these trails in the woods. I remember feeling the beauty of the scene. Looking from the point of view that everything was covered and all you could do was hear the wind. I remember feeling on one side of the specter absolute awe of nature and also eerie and I tried to paint that with Hear the Wind."
"The Woods is a painting I did of a sunset I saw a few years back. It was such a serene place. It's one of those moments where you look at everything around you and no matter what happens it wouldn't phase you at all. It was one of the times that I was really connected with nature and it stayed with me. I gave that painting to my partner's parents for Christmas." Asked to describe his influences Yves responds, "I like the Impressionists and the Group of Seven. I like people that are different but I don't like people who try to do the normal thing. Dali was one that was different. Van Gogh pushed the envelope back in his day. If I was to say there is one artist that I tend to go back to it is Van Gogh because of the colors he used. He seemed to sort of seek out nature to deal with his own demons. I admire the guy for what he did. He is recognized now, unfortunately after he died, he was very talented." Yves explains his current style. "Everything to me is about being involved in a process. Right now what's important to me is to be able to do proper research. To get to the point where I can examine each brush stroke that I do on a painting. Whether it is from finding the proper scene, shooting a good picture of it, looking at different techniques for sketching it, preparing it in a digital format, then sketching it, looking at color composition, taking my time either by doing lots of thumbnail sketching or sketching in black gesso on a canvas, preparing my canvas and going on and on. Whereas before I would sit down with my palette, my colors, bring a couple of brushes and I'd go. Now it's a little bit more of a process that slows me down. That's where I am at right now talk to me a year from now and I might say that took me too long and I'm just back into just doing it right there." Whatever the style it will be interesting to watch the growth in this emerging contemporary artist. Who knows where the future will take him? Mitzi's Sister 1554 Queen Street West, Toronto, 416 532 2570 Arts on King 169 King Street East, Toronto 416 777 9617 |
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