Peter's blog

English Version - *version française dessous* HAPPY JACKSON POLLOCKS There are five painters who had a major influence on my art journey.  The first were Degas, Monet and Van Gogh.  I loved Degas’ dancers, Monet’s landscapes and Van Gogh’s use of colour.  Then I discovered Quebec’s own Jean-Paul Riopelle.  The last major influence was Jackson Pollock.   The first time I saw one of his paintings in the early 90’s I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.  But as time went on, I began to appreciate the beauty of his art… especially his drip paintings.  I began to read everything I could about Pollock and his life.  I watched all the films on his sad life and art.  Today, when I visit a museum and see his paintings, they take my breath away!  Pollocks works are stunning and make me feel alive!   Like Pollock, many of my larger canvases are painted on the floor and I use bottles with different sized needles to create my own type ...

     English Version - *version française dessous* THE ART OF SHIPPING ART My wife Francine takes care of running the gallery and, with the assistance of her colleagues, curates the collection on display.   Francine also oversees the shipping process.   Since we opened the gallery in 2013, she has shipped my art to over 30 different countries around the world.     Usually, smaller paintings are packaged on site and Collectors leave the gallery with them.   We also have a company that specializes in delivering art to locations in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and the Greater Toronto area.   Francine carefully packages these paintings and then we load them directly onto trucks that deliver the art to the Collectors home.   Sometimes, the same company provides a “white glove service” and they will actually install my art in the Collector’s home.   For most other destinations, Francine creates custom crates in wood.  I ...

    English Version - *version française dessous* A FAMILY GALLERY My wife Francine and I opened the gallery in May 2013.   It was supposed to be a pop-up gallery with the objective of selling 50 paintings by the end of September 2013.   We did that by the end of June and made the decision to keep our gallery open indefinitely.   Our other major objective was to create a “Family Gallery” meaning that everyone would feel welcome regardless of whether they were going to acquire a piece of art or not.   It didn’t matter who you were, we wanted everyone to feel welcome and have an enjoyable experience.     Francine, who manages the gallery, went out of her way to recruit and train her colleagues to greet everyone warmly and answer any questions they had about my art.   If they had children and wanted to browse, they would often give the kids coloring books and crayons.   They would even sit with them as they made their own creati...

     English Version - *version française dessous* DISTRICT PARTY This past Thursday, the gallery was invited to join a group of merchants from the Old Montreal district for the District Party evening, an event known to launch the summer season in our historic district. The evening took place at the Bonsecours Market, which is located right in front of our gallery.   Francine, Sara and I met the many visitors throughout this very lively evening where visual art, music and gastronomy were in the spotlight. I had the chance to create two paintings during the evening and several people came to observe my way of working! I greatly appreciated the exchanges that took place, it is always a pleasure for me to share my thoughts on creation and artistic process. But most of all, I love listening to your impressions! Thank you once again to the SDC Vieux-Montréal for this fantastic opportunity. Hoping to retry the exp...