Artist: Gisele Comtois
Medium: Oil
Dimensions: 24''x30''
​​​​​​​Location: Loft

Bidding on this artwork will take place at the Live Auction event, Friday, April 14. Tickets available at the link at dvsa.ca. Absentee bids can also be placed in advance – request a form at the school office or email bid@dvsa.ca. Limited phone bidding options also available.  

About This Work
“The inspiration I had for this painting came to me while observing the movements of cloud formations of an approaching storm. The composition took place in Baie St Paul in the County of Charlevoix located on the North Shore of the St Lawrence River east of Quebec City. I have been painting that county for the past 20 years.”

Biography
Over time, an artist develops by experimenting with different approaches, media, techniques as well as ideas and themes. Experience and sagacity allow the artist to weave together these disparate threads into a unifying vision. After more than 40 years of exploration and perfecting her art, Gisele Comtois brings forth to us paintings of beautiful sophistication. The works become the delightful focus of any room, not by shocking or jolting the viewer, but by enveloping him or her with a serene and vibrant energy. Building on the essential foundation of a strong composition. Comtois amplifies the effect with her shimmering palate. Only a very accomplished artist can deploy such bold strokes of colour, weighing the value of each hue, each shade, all the while maintaining the balance and harmony of the composition. This is a very difficult task, indeed, yet with Comtois’ expert hands, it all seems so simple, so natural.

Born in St. Marc-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Gisele now lives in Burlington, Ontario. She has studied various aspects of fine arts at the Musée de Beaux Arts in Montreal, QC, Cambrian College in Sudbury, McMaster University in Hamilton and Sheridan College in Oakville. She has taught art at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ecole Ste-Marie in Oakville and Ecole St-Phillipe in Burlington. Ms. Comtois' own work has also been the subject of academic study at Sheridan College.

The artist has taken countless sketching trips exploring the Gaspé coast, Charlevois County, the Laurentians, the Eastern Township in Quebec, the Maritimes, Northern Ontario, France, Italy, India, Egypt and South America. We see the influence of their bold geometric forms in her compositions. There is a majestic balance between the horizontal and the vertical lines as the whole work is flushed with striking colours inspired by these haunting contributors to the expansive Canadian landscape.

Artist Statement
The important factor in my art is not only the pictorial result; it is an art at once sentimental and elusive, softly spiritual without preaching, close to us and yet remote, and full of need to continue human communication.

giselecomtois.com