Last weekend I was a participant in an event here in Ottawa called Art in the Park. It is an annual day of artists displaying their creations in the beautiful setting of Strathcona Park in the Sandy Hill area of the city. I wasn’t displaying any of my art but was there to show the art of many of the students in the studio I help manage.  I greatly enjoyed wandering around and taking in the varied, colorful and unique artwork that was presented there.

A few of the artists really stood out for their work but Renald Brisebois stood out not just for his work but also for his joie de vivre.  Upon meeting him and talking about his paintings, I came to the conclusion that perhaps more than anyone else I talked to that day, Renald’s personality was on brilliant display in his artwork. He is an artist from Quebec City who does most of his work in acrylic and oil, often combining the two. From his descriptions I got the sense that he just lets the images flow, often not knowing himself where they will end up, and he gets such joy in that journey that it is infectious. My wife and I both felt an immediate uplifting of the spirit just spending a few moments with him and his artwork.

I wanted to give you a sampling of his work here on my blog. You can track him down on Facebook (www.facebook.com/renald.brisebois) or his website at renaldbrisebois.com

My French is almost non-existent but hopefully I got the titles right for these paintings. By the way, if you are nearly-French-illiterate like me, a little help: joie de vivre means “joy of living”!