Raymond J Belcourt / Denise Belcourt-Paquette
As initiator and coordinator of the project, I had the privilege of selecting the talented members of the team to represent their province. I approached and selected artists on the basis of painting style, reputation and enthusiasm, attempting to provide a range of styles and techniques as diverse as our great country. Over a 2-year period, I traveled across Canada to take a variety of landscape photos in each province. The scenes ranged from provincial iconic views to simple seasonal landscapes. Much of the photography was dictated by the weather and lighting conditions, as well as the accessibility of the remote areas. In all instances I concentrated on capturing a photo with the artist’s particular style in mind.Once I had collected an array of landscape shots, I sent them to the artists to select the photos that inspired them and that they felt best suited their individual painting styles. Together we considered creative and unique characteristics that would capture the interest and imagination of the art world and the Canadian public. The challenge, unique in each instance, was to find a way to have the photograph and the paint share the canvas, blending the media into one homogenized scene.The photo itself first had to be transferred to canvas, omitting portions of the image selected by the artist. Then came the interpretation and rendering of the missing portions by the artist in his/her chosen medium right on the canvas. The result is a landscape illustration that merges photo and painting seamlessly. The combinations are as interesting and varied as the landscapes and the artists themselves.Reproductions of the (final) artwork are formatted in this coffee table book. The content is focused on the artwork of the Canadian environment with short insights of my experiences on location across the country. The artists share their personal thoughts about how their paintings are representative of their respective provinces. 3
