Featured Artist< br />Solange Villeneuve

Solange Villeneuve is a Quebec-born artist who lives in Hudson. She paints in a bright, abstract style that has appealed to collectors in Quebec and internationally. She can be reached at (450) 458-2112 and by email at: solangevilleneuve@total.net

Solange Villeneuve was born in Québec where she earned a degree in Education from Laval University. She was first introduced to the world of art by her mother who was also a painter, and she studied art in Montreal and in the United States.

Solange lives in Hudson on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains, where she has located her studio. It gives her the ideal location for her work. She has participated in many group shows and had several solo shows. She has exhibited in Canada, as well as abroad in France and in the United States.

Solange’s bright luminous style, superimposed with linear graphics has called attention to her work. She has won prizes in Quebec and in the United States and is a signature member of the Louisiana Watercolor Society.

Solange’s work forms part of the private collection of the lieutenant-gouverneur of Quebec as well as the art collection of Céline Dion’s family. While it has a distinct style that she says comes from her own imagination, she also feels that her work is constantly evolving and changing.

Solange describes her work as sun-filled and warm, such as that on the right, called “Ma Chere Marguerite.” Some of her other paintings, such as those on the following two pages, are more steeped in blues and greys, more somber, while maintaining a positive image for the subjects. This diversity adds interest to her work.

Paintings

Solange Villeneuve’s work takes recognizable objects but treats them abstractly, hiding their sharp individuality and integrating them into their surroundings. In the “Duo de Marguerites,” below, the flowers are recognizable but fade into the background, which in turn becomes more flower-like.

In the painting below, called “Flamingos,” the pink flamingo shape is echoed by the darker one behind it that assumes colours closer to the surroundings.

The birds in the paintings below, the owl in “Ma Chouette,” and those in “Dinnertime,” have some of their internal colours repeated in the background. The owl is more separate than the other figures, perhaps because it is the”dear” or “favourite.”

Perhaps, when Solonge calls her work warm and sun-filed, she is referring to warmly depicted subjects shown as part of their sun-filled environment and itegrated in a positive, creative way.

Artistic Process (French version below)

“The aim of art is to respect not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” (Aristotle)

Painting is what I do, who I am.

The process of painting and the search of discovery are more interesting than the results. To obtain satisfying results, it is important to get involve in one’s own art, completely, entirely. Technique only is not enough. It is what you do with it that makes a painting special, interesting …….at times good.

Creativity has to be cultivated, pampered, and respected. It may start in your head, soul, eyes or at times, in your guts. This is why I paint what is inside me more than what is in front of me.

This is a long road with no precise ending. Some times, I know where it starts, not always, but rarely do I know where it ends.

I might think that I control the painting to discover that it is the other way around. The painting controls me! This is so much more fun! It is important to avoid boredom of myself and of others.

Painting is more important than Art. Nobody knows what Art is. This is an abstraction that differ from one to the other. Even Experts don’t always agree on it. One cannot prove Art. This is the reason it is so important to stay honest and true to yourself and try to go as far as you can.

Démarche Artistique

“Le but de l’art est de respecter la valeur intrinsèque des choses plutôt que leur apparence extérieure.”
(Aristote, Traduction Libre)

Peindre est ce que je fais, ce que je suis. Ce qui m’intéresse est le processus de découverte, plus que le résultat. Si ce dernier est bon, c’est “la cerise sur le sundae”. Pour y arriver, il faut s’impliquer à fond, à temps plein, entièrement. La technique seule ne suffit pas à y arriver. C’est ce que l’on fait avec elle qui fait une peinture.

Le processus de créativité doit être cultivé, dorloté, respecté. Il commence quelques fois dans la tête, dans l’âme, dans les yeux ou dans les entrailles.

C’est pourquoi je peins ce qu’il y a à l’intérieur de moi plutôt que devant moi.

C’est un long chemin qui n’a pas de fin précise. Quelques fois l’on sait où l’on commence, pas toujours, mais on sait rarement où cela nous mène. Je planifie donc au fur et à mesure du travail.

C’est lorsque l’on croit que l’on est en charge d’une œuvre que l’on découvre que c’est elle qui est en charge de nous. Le plaisir réside dans l’imprévisible. Il faut éviter l’ennui de soi et d’autrui.

Il est important de mener son travail le plus loin possible.

Peindre est plus important que l’Art. Personne ne sait vraiment ce qu’est l’Art. C’est une abstraction qui diffère de l’un à l’autre. Même les “experts” ne s’entendent pas toujours sur le sujet. On ne peut jamais prouver l’Art. Il suffit de rester honnête avec soi-même, de ne pas essayer d’être quelqu’un d’autre, mais d’être le meilleur soi possible.