Michèle Bedard | Contemporary Artist: Artworks & Biography

The life of Michele draws on two parallels: one dedicated to graphics, the other to painting. These originate from a childhood attraction to picture books and regular participation in design workshops of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec. Both activities would be the foundation of her decision to make painting her profession. \n After a degree in graphic design at Université Laval in Quebec City, she taught drawing for four years. Michele then founded the agency Macadam where she has worked for the past twenty years as a graphic designer and illustrator. This allows her to develop her art by creating posters for the Quebec Opera and illustrations for children's books. \n Splitting her time equally, she paints the rest of the time in her studio. She uses acrylic, oil and mixed medium techniques such as ink and watercolour together. In mastering these, Michele creates landscapes, still lifes and flowers on canvas. These works are expressive where warm-toned, merry and bright pigments have the spotlight. The different tones of red and yellow often give a sunny atmosphere to her works. \n Recognizable shapes in the foreground do not prevent light from escaping into a second more diffuse and abstract level ... much as an invitation to the imagination, to move from reality to dreams. \n Drawing inspiration from the changing light throughout the day, but also throughout the seasons, she likes to paint nature, which is in constant transformation. The poetry and beauty of landscapes and flowers inspire her in her search for compositions, and her choice of colours. \n Michele approaches painting intuitively, guided by the medium, and the energy that comes out on canvas by using colour. On seeing her paintings, one feels a great clarity in both shapes and nuances. Michele shares in her works her lyrical perception of colour ... and her love of nature and poetic atmospheres.