Yvan DAGENAIS – A multi-faceted journey

For a quarter-century, he’s lived in a pretty house he built with his own hands, nestled in the hollow of a hill overlooking North Hatley. The lawn overlooks a ravine, where a brook cascades and sings, flowing under a small wooden bridge he also built. Painter Yvan Dagenais lives in the middle of nature, among the trees, away from prying eyes.

Every wall of his huge studio is covered with his paintings, from ceiling to floor. Works from all periods of his half-century-long career can be found here: oil portraits, large-format canvases inspired by nature scenes, geometric forms or compositions of assembled objects, pastel drawings.

Inspiration springs as the day goes by, at the sight of simple objects from ordinary life: an old trunk abandoned at the bottom of a shed, a damaged road sign, a cast-iron pot he places next to a birch log, a life jacket. His brushes and pencils bring to life the landscapes, shapes and faces his eyes observe through the green eyeglass frames that encircle his lively, laughing gaze.

Yvan Dagenais’ artistic career spans several decades, during which time he has trained and practiced with recognized masters. His work has been exhibited in Montreal, Paris, New York, Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships, among others, and has won several prestigious awards. He was one of the first Canadians to become a member of the prestigious Pastel Society of America.

Over the years, in addition to his own output as a painter, he has explored a whole range of arts-related activities: illustrator for magazines and newspapers, cartoonist for television during court trials, actor in a film (a cartoonist’s role), owner of an art gallery and gift store, while continuing to teach visual arts at the Université de Sherbrooke, for almost 30 years.

Yvan Dagenais now enjoys an active semi-retirement in which he continues to paint and draw, while remaining involved in community life through Arts-Cultures Massawippi, where he sits on the Board of Directors, and Vacances Art Nature in Coaticook, where he continues to teach art.

One challenge that motivates him: drawing faces in pastel in thirty minutes on Saturday mornings at the North Hatley public market, for example. Half an hour to render on canvas the expression of a person who lends him/herself to the game. And rediscover the pleasure of painting and drawing, without pressure and in total freedom, to give oneself time to see what the future holds.