Nelson’s Brigitte Desbois will be showing her new series of paintings inspired by the route between Nakusp and Nelson at the Studio Connexion Gallery in Nakusp this month.
On a road trip from Nelson to Nakusp to see painter David Langevin’s exhibit at Anne Beliveau’s gallery, Desbois and her travelling companions made the most of the journey, stopping to take pictures of the scenery.
“It was a really long trip to get there and back, because we stopped every five minutes to take pictures,” recalled Desbois. But the time was well spent, and became the foundation of her latest work now showing in Nakusp.
Brigitte was born in Montréal and grew up in England and France. She developed a love for traveling and was attracted to all forms of culture. As a teenager in Paris, she spent many many hours at the Musée des Impressionnistes and at the Musée d’ Art Moderne. Upon her return in Québec, she earned her living by doing paintings on silk. She also does study painting with oils at the Atelier Michel Ange in Québec City.
“Mostly I lived in the country when I was growing up,” Desbois told the Arrow Lakes News. St. Antoine-De-Tilly, a small town of about 1,200 people half an hour from Québec City, was her home until she and her husband, a carpentry contractor, moved to Calgary for work.
After 10 years in Calgary she returned to Montréal to study Fine Arts at the Ecole Mission Renaissance, and joined the Federation of Canadian Artists.
“It really connects you to the art world, with artists all over the place,” explained Desbois. “It’s just a kind of network, and it gives you an idea how you fit into the art world because every show is juried.”
She has been in Nelson since 2007, following her son to the Kootenay city.
“We had a son who was a musician, and he found Selkirk College in Nelson,” said Desbois, who would come with her husband and visit in the summers. “He came here and I guess we got jealous,” she joked. “We were always thinking how can we live here. It’s been five years already I can’t believe it.”
“From an artist’s point of view, it’s like falling into a box of chocolates. all this inspiration right in front of you,” remarked Desbois. “It’s hard not be a landscape painter when you live in Nelson.”
Her new series of paintings “From Nelson to Nakusp” is featured from August 7 to August 25 at Studio Connexion Gallery in Nakusp located downtown at 203 Fifth Avenue. You can visit her exhibition from Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
