Réjean Roy
Réjean Roy grew up in Petit-Rocher, New Brunswick, where he spent his youth in the woods, following rivers and streams to go fishing or to sleep under the stars.
He left the region to study biology in Quebec, where he also enrolled in fine arts courses. He also took printmaking courses at the Université de Moncton. After living in Gaspésie for ten years, he returned to New Brunswick in 2000.
While working in the environmental field, to protect endangered species, Réjean got his start in art as a scientific illustrator. He then offered his drawing talent to publishing houses specialising in children's literature. His first publication in this field came in 2004, when he illustrated a poem written by Marguerite Maillet and published by Bouton d'or Acadie. He has now illustrated no fewer than forty titles with various publishers.
At the same time, Réjean has developed his painting skills in the fine arts, capturing the light and colours of the landscapes he loves so much when out canoeing or hiking. He is represented by Gallery 78 in Fredericton and Robert's Gallery in Toronto.
What led you to become an artist?
To be an artist, first, is to recognise that we all have within us this desire to express the unknown, the unfathomable, to convey strong and complex emotions and perceived ideas. Without knowing it, at a young age, this is what I was trying to do when I made my first scribbles with my pencils. Later, I had this desire to communicate in some way, my experiences of the natural environment, and to let the different moods of nature speak through my brushes and oil paint.
How have your training and experiences helped you to create and innovate in your artistic practice?
It was when I met some of my mentors that I really understood what it meant to express myself, and how to manipulate mediums to achieve that end. However, my training really began when I dedicated myself to mastering my favourite mediums, first watercolour and then oil paint. I took a few courses, read some basic visual art books, and studied art history. A lot of what I learnt also came simply from observing the landscape.
What stimulates you most in your practice?
What stimulates my practice is really the desire to get as close as possible to this vision that I have of a work, to convey as faithfully and honestly as possible this emotion that stirs within me when faced with a landscape.
The work is finished when I feel that I have brought it as close as possible to my vision. Sometimes I feel that I can't do it and that the stammering in front of me is no match for what I have in mind, that I'm far from my goal, and that my attempts are even futile. So, I try to move on as quickly as possible to the next attempt, another vision, another work altogether.
Strangely enough, it's only when I go back and contemplate paintings I've done before that I can sometimes gauge their intrinsic value and see that this dried mixture of colour (sometimes) explicitly contains what I wanted to express.
I'm also delighted when someone describes to me how they feel when they look at the work and their description reflects exactly what I had in mind when I was making the painting. I'm also amazed at how these brushstrokes manifest a silent elocution, without me even having to explain anything about my intentions. This is what stimulates my practice.
How does the process of creating a work unfold?
If I'm short of ideas, a simple walk in the forest is enough to fuel my creativity. Even better is to set off for a week or two by canoe on a solitary expedition through evocative landscapes.
How has living and working in New Brunswick helped and/or inspired you along the way?
Since I've travelled the rivers, lakes and forests of New Brunswick from an early age, I have a maternal attachment to the province's landscape. It was this familiarity and knowledge that motivated me to start painting.
Why do you think it's important to make art and invest yourself in an artistic process?
That's a question that requires a slightly more philosophical answer, but I believe that creativity is at the root of the human experience. From making the first primitive tools to perfecting our homes, we have exercised our creativity and dexterity. These skills have also manifested themselves in our desire to express ourselves, whether through language or any other means invented to convey complex ideas in an environment where social cooperation has been, and still is, essential to our survival. Art is therefore necessarily an extension of this need to share and contribute to humanity. I certainly create for myself, but my works only take on their meaning and raison d'être if they are shared with others.
In your opinion, what is the impact of artists' work in communities and in the province as a whole?
What I've been lucky enough to observe over the years is that the work of artists seems to go hand in hand with the development of a community. If art is present, it enriches, it embellishes, it makes the community want to live there. Art seems to galvanise social and cultural development and has a beneficial effect on the local economy.
Describe what you are most proud of in your career.
At this point in my life, I think I'm most proud of the longevity of my career. I may still have years left to paint, God willing, but I'm still proud that I've stayed the course and enjoyed an artistic life to the full. It has been a privilege for which I am grateful.
What advice would you give to emerging artists?
A career in art is not built overnight. One day's success doesn't necessarily translate into a career. There may be detours and setbacks, but it's important to define your goals clearly. Sometimes, as artists, we tend to be all over the place and spread ourselves too thin. But I think it's important to set standards and master certain mediums or means of expression to achieve a certain mastery that will allow the artist to refine their voice, stand out and contribute to the worlds of the arts.
