"Sérénité hivernale"
Jean-Guy Desrosiers, "Sérénité hivernale," 2006, oil, 20" x 24".
JEAN-GUY DESROSIERS
Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary
May 13-20, 2006
By Dina O'Meara
Jean-Guy Desrosiers celebrates each day with art, rising before dawn to paint and working into the early afternoon, often outdoors, shaping his warm, almost naïf oil landscapes. The routine is repeated six days a week, a discipline Desrosiers, 72, says is integral to expressing his passion. “The main thing is to get to work with my brush,” he says, from Quebec City. A prolific artist with a deep regard for literature, Desrosiers loves the narrative painting allows, and enjoys telling stories with each landscape or still life. Desrosiers’ oil paintings of rural Quebec and his beloved Quebec City reflect his sentimental and playful eye, each scene imbued with rich, earthy tones. Desrosiers works all angles in a painting, often flipping a painting upside down — much to onlookers’ amusement — and ensuring it looks good however held. The affection for his subjects, which include Maritime themes of boats and coastal villages, is apparent in the vibrant paintings. “I am very happy in my life, and my work transmits that joy,” Desrosiers says.
Represented by more than 20 galleries across Canada, including: Rendez-vous Gallery, Vancouver; Tutt Art Gallery, Kelowna; Scott Gallery, Edmonton; Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary; Loch Fine Art Gallery, Winnipeg; Pacif’ic Gallery, Saskatoon; Westmount Gallery, Toronto.