Magazin'Art

Dynamic and audacious, Louise Marion has successfully coordinated various projects into which she gladly applied her immense energy throughout her business career. All the while she never stopped painting and, in parallel, has been able to ensure her  presence in galleries since 1996. There came a time, however, when concentrating so much effort towards helping others reach their aspirations, as stimulating as that was, left her with the impression that she was somewhat neglecting her own true passion in life. Hence, after having been at the employ of major firms for more than twenty years, she finally decides in 2007 to follow her heart's calling and abandons her career as an accountant to consecrate all of her time to her art. Her painting thus starts evolving at an accelerated rhythm and her style becomes more defined. She is now devoting all of her time to her artistic production which increases dramatically. She also finds she has enough time on her hand to be able to participate in various symposiums and artistic events, which increases her visibility on a local and international level. She will never regret the choice she made. “It's a good life, as I constantly remind myself,” says the artist. “I feel privileged to be able to work at what I love to do!”

Born in Joliette, Québec in 1958, Louise is an only child blossoming at the heart of a family that makes music part of its everyday life. Her attraction to art is whole: dance, drawing, theatre have equal billing in her mind. Her childhood fills her with constant  appiness generating beautiful memories that nourish her soul to this day. Sensitive to the wellbeing of others, she is mindful of her entourage with whom she wishes to share her positive energy. Generously and in all simplicity, she dispenses her inexhaustible joy of living as well as her artworks that are filled with pure and radiant colours transcending her benevolent intentions and faith in life. Louise Marion is a happy person who enjoys partying as she associates with others who, like her, wish to celebrate life and all the joy it has to offer.

She lives a life of complete freedom, whatever the risks may be, the adventure of discovery prevailing over comfort. Welcoming new experiences, she remains open to those that come about naturally and doesn't hesitate to create her own opportunities following her heart's desires. She has no wish to reach retirement before having realized all her dreams. She lives wholly in the present, without seeking to please others, nor trying to meet demands that are contrary to her most profound desires. “I live every day as if it were my last,” states Marion.

Some of the professional qualities she has developed during her business career, such as her organizational and marketing sense, are of great use in sustaining this artistic lifestyle where everything is possible, but not without effort. Essentially self-taught, her signature has gained recognition tantamount to the self-confidence she has acquired over- time. Her artistic production favours urban scenes as well as rural ones, opposites that seem to actualize her own comprehensive vision. She also amuses herself at painting starry winter night scenes where the moon and artificial lights contribute to accentuate the disparities of this nocturnal universe and intensify the colours of the snow, since nothing is ever really white in her eyes. Having lived in the Montréal region for thirty years, her city scenes propose close-up images where the urbanites' lives are simply exposed, without the agitation with which they are usually associated. Louise Marion wishes to depict moments of relaxation where the spectator's mind can momentarily escape towards felicity. Favouring the vertical and thin necktie format, she breaks-up the space in three planes, corresponding to the levels of high rise buildings, as portions of reality. Her perky faceless figures are reminiscent of the anonymity and indifference that reign within the metropolis. As to her landscapes where the eye can softly wander through the various planes, they invite the spectator to stop and feel the bewitchment of nature; no human lives here to distract the eye from its contemplation. Marion also holds dear and wishes to transmit the patrimonial heritage of small country villages, whether in Québec or elsewhere. “Artworks reflect the history of a people and are transmitters of its culture. This is an important dimension in my mind, to which I always give consideration when I'm painting.” Probably a legacy of her previous profession, her rational thinking helps her devise structured compositions that are initially defined through forms that are often geometric.

She starts by texturing her background, haphazardly so as to maintain an element of surprise when actual drawing is done and to ensure better adherence of colours on the canvas. She then seals the canvas with an earth tone that will further magnify the various colors used. Unaltered and opaque, these colours are then applied, without nuance, over the roughly lead traced forms. And, this is where Louise Marion's wholebeing exults. She expresses her elation through the application of large flattenedsmooth colour planes, without shading or fading. Then a large black lineencloses the forms thus shaped, highlighting their character while creating asubtle mosaic effect. Although she greatly favours complementary juxtapositions and strong contrasts, an atmosphere of peace and calm easily cohabits with the vibrancy of colours in Marion's paintings. Hence the mind can visit the work with a sentiment of plenitude, irregardless of the presence of highly stimulating pigments that peak the emotions. Ultimately, the artist applies a high gloss varnish that increases the intensity of the piece even further. Driven by her natural curiosity, Louise Marion cannot remain idle. She is attentive to everything that will further her path. Following this principle, she explores new materials and experiences. The recent steps she took towards abstraction have had only one goal, to stepaway from well-known and comfortable¸avenues in order to enter this somewhat unstable state of being from which the unexpected may arise. She is content to play with matter and explore new facets of her art, without necessarily wishing to publicly show her creations. “It's hard for me to be completely satisfied with what I've accomplished. In painting, one goes from one discovery to another. Every step of an artistic approach is pertinent to the creative finality.”