GAGNON and the steps behind the artwork

GAGNON, an artist of the Perreault Art Gallery, has recently published a video made by Max Arsenault, shot in the artist’s studio. The clip makes us discover the artist’s every day working universe:

Kneeling on the ground, she positions in front of her the white canvas, the beginning, the birth of an entity. The same square of white canvas, always the challenge of a creation that convey her motives through gestures, strength and focus.

Curious to know more about her creative process? We asked her few questions to learn more about the work behind her beautiful paintings!

A passionate artistic approach

Lyly Gagnon, her real name, has a very intuitive approach; she lets herself be guided by the emotion and the passion of the moment. “Inspiration comes from working, with both hands deep in paint… As we often hear, it’s 5% inspiration, 95% sweating! The topics come to me, I don’t look for them, “she says.

The short clip summarizes well the starting point of the artist’s paintings:  “Each work is unique, but when you look at the video, you see that I always start a new painting the same way. I create a chaos and then I let the colors and the textures guide me!”

An evolution under the inspiration of the moment

Step by step, the artist simply lets go, abandons herself and lets the painting speaks for itself, not knowing what she’ll do the minute before. The message of the painting is expressed through the work itself; it’s the artist’s signature.

Often we have the impression that paintings take a long time to complete, but is it really the case? “As for the duration of gestation of an artwork, it is very unpredictable… I always say that it takes 51 years, which is my age!” says GAGNON with humor. We understand what she means when we know that she likes to call her workshop “her laboratory”, where she has spent years researching and experimenting, “while pure joy and discouragement would overlap frequently”!

And how exactly does she know when the artwork is done? “The painting tells you when it can live and stand on its own!”

Click here to have a look at GAGNON’s amazing paintings available at the Perreault Art Gallery!