André St-Georges
Why I Paint
When I paint, I am not trying to capture the extraordinary. My goal is to reveal what the ordinary can become when we truly pay attention to it.
I am more interested in the feeling a place evokes than in creating a perfectly realistic representation. I paint what I feel, hoping to leave enough room for you to bring your own experiences to the work.
I paint the places that stay with us long after we've left them.
My Artistic Approach
Every painting begins long before I pick up a brush. The first step is an encounter with my subject—more often than not, a place.
I try to remain open to these encounters, because I never know when a particular light, composition, or atmosphere will speak to me. Sometimes they happen unexpectedly, around a street corner, during a long walk, or on a drive. Other times, I go looking for them, camera in hand.
Just as with people, some encounters lead nowhere, while others drift away for a time before finding their way back. The paintings I create in my studio are the memories of the ones that stayed with me.
My journey
After studying visual arts in college and earning a bachelor's degree in comic art, I spent several years working in Quebec's comic book industry. In the mid-2000s, I realized that painting was a more natural way for me to tell stories. Over the years, I have presented several solo and group exhibitions, and most recently completed a public mural in downtown Gatineau.
Having recently made the decision to devote myself entirely to my artistic practice, I continue to explore the landscapes of Quebec in search of the next encounters that will move me. I look forward to sharing them with you.