Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Johanne Brouillette. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Johanne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
I was approached several years ago by a fellow artist I knew only on social media inviting me to participate in a group show of 12 women abstract artists in the USA. The show if I accepted meant that I would be creating and shipping 2 very large scale paintings. I did some research to see if it was legitimite but knew that I may never get any money from the sale of the paintings and may not even be able to get back the paintings if they did not sell. I took a risk and decided to participate in the show. It took me many weeks to create the pieces and several hundred dollars to ship them. My risk paid off as not only did those paintings sell and I was paid for them, but this began a partnership with a very large gallery based in the United States that now represents me as a permanent artist of their gallery.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Canadian abstract painter who has been living and working out of my studio in the Laurentians for over close to 30 years.
Although I studied and painted figurative landscapes in oil for many years, I chose to never exhibit or sell my artwork. Feeling bored and considering giving up my painting altogether, I finally decided to attend an abstract workshop in 2016 and immediately found a new passion. I can say my art career took off from there and I have taken numerous workshops, specialized courses and residencies and continue to do so to perfect my art. I am inspired by Québec Automatistes painters such as Riopelle, Borduas and Ferron,. I have found freedom of expression in abstraction pursued through automatism: an instinctive, unpremeditated form of creating art. My current body of work is an exploration of the Canadian Landscapes using oil and cold wax medium.
I am a jury elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, and the Federation of Canadian Artists. I have participated in over 80 regional, national and international juried exhibits and have been awarded several prizes. In July 2020, the Society of Canadian Artists awarded me with the prestigious Antoinette Stevens Medal “Best in Show”.
My work is represented in galleries and both private and corporate collections throughout North America and Europe.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think that for non creatives they struggle to understand all the hours I put into my craft. I have a full time job and can still put in 30 hours a week in my studio. You must be willing to put in the hours if you want to master your craft and get noticed. There are just too many talented artists out there. I can spend an entire day in my studio on a beautifully sunny day and not feel the least bit like I sacrificed my day inside. Non creatives have a hard time understanding why I am spending my day in a basement studio!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The road has been bumpy with many health issues along the way. The last incident being 2 years ago when I suffered a a broken elbow that took 8 months to heal. I learned to paint with the other arm on smaller formats until being able to paint normally again. There is always something we can do. Read an art book, use a sketch book, study colour mixing etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://johannebrouillette.ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johannebrouilletteart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johannebrouilletteart
- Other: tik tok https://www.tiktok.com/@johannebrouilletteart