MRV First Prize Winner
Joëlle B. Le Blanc is not happy to have won the jury’s 1st prize in the Mountain, River and Village (Montagne, rivière et village) exhibition-competition. She’s ecstatic. The artist who divides her time between Mont-Saint-Hilaire, where she has been living for approximately twenty years, and Montreal, where she has her workshop, will probably still need a few days, maybe even a few weeks, to recover from her emotions.
“What touches me the most, is to have won a competition that was open toall mediums with an ink wordand, in addition, to have won it with a black andwhite work. For me, it is proof that I must always listen to my heart. In the past, I tried to seduce, I asked myself what people wanted. I strayed from mypossibilities” declared the creator of the famous Fusion ballerinas, the piece selected by the judges at the MRV. In an always very realistic style, Joëlle B. Le Blanc works with ink orwash-paint, but also with oil. She is also an engraver and masters the techniqueof high contrasts to perfection.
POETRY…
If dull and silly seduction is no longer part of her daily life, Joëlle B. Le Blanc does not shy away from recognition. Not at all. Contrary to other paintbrush professionals, her pleasure is certainly not limited only to the stage of creation. “Art is a form of communication, she states, otherwise it would be masturbation. What people appreciate in a work of art, is not the subject for the subject, but rather the poetry that the artist has put into it. Therefore, it’s when I realise that people understand my poetry that I’m happy. It’s as if they were holding out their hand to help me come out of my little bubble.”
HIGH HEELS
With her high heels, her high fashion clothes, her meticulously done hair and her impeccable manners, the artist looks more like an accomplished professional than a young painter. And it is not altogether untrue, as she manages her art like an entrepreneur, with precise objectives, a business plan, etc. Furthermore, before taking up painting and engraving on a full-time basis, she studied law at the University of Montreal two years ago. “I was always painting, engraving or drawing, but I never would have dared, until justrecently, come out of my closet. Now that I’ve done it, I can’t imagine myself working in any other field. By giving up the security and stability card, I made the most important decision of my life”, she explains.
…AND A WINNER’S SPEECH
“Today, every time I have the opportunity, I encourage people to make the most of their talent. For doors to open up foryou, you must do what you love most. You must not fade away, life is too beautiful,” she explains. What Joëlle B. Le Blanc does not say is that she would not have time to fade away anyway. Her agenda is full. Among other things, she will hold exhibitionsin Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and in Mont-Saint-Hilaire at the Faubourg des arts. She will also re-edit Paul Morin’s engravings as a “Posthumous Tribute”. She is to illustrate a collection of Marc Labelle’s poems, attend a burin-engraving workshop with George Ball in Paris. And she plans oncontinuing to enjoy her most recent honours and carefully examine any new offers, which could consequently come her way.
Bernard BLANCHARD