We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Leveille-guay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

From my earliest memories, I knew I wanted to be an artist.
I lived quite fully in a magical world of my own making – that I drew myself.
I wasn’t a kid that fit in well. And this world building became the fabric of me.
There was never a question as to IF it would do this.. but how.
Coming into the art world at the time I did- the things I wanted make were less sought after- figure based magical reality-
Today the art world has a more welcoming view of this kind of work.
My biggest skill and the thing I feel I have to offer is that I build very elaborate figurative works largely based upon drawing and painting without specific models or photo reference. I have spend so many years ( first working in graphic novel and comics ) drawing and painting such a vast number of things from my imagination that I have a large internal library.
I also feel the value of story within painting.. it’s how we understand the world.
I use the nature of the line and gesture in my works as one of the tools to convey this, as much as the subjects themselves working the work.

Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Bell Hooks wrote “Male fantasy is seen as something that can create reality, whereas female fantasy is regarded as pure escape.”

I think in order to achieve something as artists, in order to weather the storm we have to hold tight to our personal manifestations of power and the belief we have in our own vision.
You must not only love and believe in your own work you must do so, SO completely that you cast a spell on others.

Women have been asked through the bulk of influences within writing, culture, art history etc… to fit themselves into someone else’s skin in order to survive.
I have seen women artists tamp down aspects of what they are in order to try to survive within the framework that has been established-in both commercial and gallery art.
Having started my journey in my early 20s in comics and graphic novels and now working within my own exhibitions and installations largely for galleries- l’m embracing REALITY and my FANTASY, my past my present ,my heart, my emotion, and trying to give those true things to the work.

My last show The Queen of Mars, in June 2023 which was curated by my friend and a wonderful artist in his own right Nicholas Cueva was one of the great successful passion projects of recent years. The work sold very well and friends and colleagues that I deeply respect attended the show.
One of the shining highlights was that Jerry Saltz visited the show ( picture below) and spend generous time talking about the work with me. He later posted about the show, and it was incredibly meaningful.
These are the moments we hope for- to be seen by the people we respect for what it is that we hope to achieve with our work.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

No one prepares young artists for how to be resilient to rejection.
The level of rejection that is levied regularly can really break a lot of people because it never really ends..
And so much of being and artist is putting YOURSELF on the line – ever day – putting yourself out there and seeing if you can make something happen.
And on top of that you have to figure out how to make money somehow- ideally with collectors buying your work.
Its can be tremendously daunting to realize that this IS what it will be- and you will always mostly be pushing it uphill yourself.
I’ve been very very fortunate, I’ve had a long and by many measure very successful career. I’ve been able to build an audience for what I do- bring them along on the vision I have for things- and that has supported me and my family. I take none of this for granted though and am EVER pursuing and idea generating the next art related endeavor.
Even within this success, I still have massive setbacks, shows that get cancelled, other huge rejections and disappointments- all woven into and along side of the successful things at all stages of one’s life in this.
This IS the reality of life as an artist.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My partner in life, my husband Matthew Mitchell, he is also a full time artist, he does large scale granite sculptures.
This is one of THE MOST vital and significant
influences in my adult life.
I respect him and his artistic feedback tremendously.
I would be a lesser artist without his incredible presence in my life, and I also feel the he cherishes my contribution to his practice and experience .
He knows exactly what’s hard and what’s wonderful about this art life and we support each other through the ups and downs of it all.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_leveille_guay?igsh=bG93M2tycXhrdXJ1&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: Rebecca Leveille Guay

Image Credits

Photo credit Matthew Mitchell
(Rebecca Leveille Guay – Bennett Prize Finalist-Inaugural Exhibition )