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Hi Jade, we’re delighted to be able to interview you about your creative work. On your Instagram channel you wrote „From fine arts to street arts“. Tell us a bit more about it. Did you start with „normal“ painting and then at some point you moved onto the walls on the street? How did you get into art at all, and how into urban art in particular?
First, thank you for thinking about me for doing this interview. I am very honored by that, as I am looking at all the other admirable artists that you already interviewed. Arts have been in my life for a while, as I have always had a creative side. When I was a teenager, I was drawing a lot, and at school, whenever I could choose arts as an optional class, I would. I remember the first time I drew in a live model workshop, I was 18 or 19 years old, and it was at that moment that I knew I would want more of this in my life. At school, I was also really good at sciences and maths, so at the time, I decided to pursue my studies in those fields, even if I would have to temporarily put aside something else I really enjoyed doing, since the studies in these fields can be highly time consuming. I ended up getting a mechanical and aerospace engineering degree. I still work as an engineer today, now in the renewable energy sector, which is very aligned with my values. I do enjoy the work I am doing, it makes me feel like I am positively contributing to the greater good, and it is not the only way I want to do it.
Over the past years, I completely reconnected with arts, which I also believe can have a strong and positive impact on society, which is something that is dear to my heart. It is while travelling in various countries, after finishing my studies, that I started to take painting classes again. And it is only when I came back from these trips that I realized that I was not allowing myself anymore that precious time back at home. So, in the past decade, I decided to make more room for art in my head and in my life. I chose to study at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, where I am studying the classical realist method at both drawing and oil painting. I also really connect with the vision of the artistic director, who, unlike how historically, it was more elitist groups of society who had access to fine arts, she welcomes anybody at the school, even if you never held a pencil to draw before! You get there the opportunity to learn some of the techniques from the old masters of European painting, which I love!
Street art techniques entered my life more recently, although painting on gigantic walls had always intrigued me. I remember drawing on my bedroom’s walls when I was younger! I had been wanting to do street art for years, and it’s like anything, you just have to convince yourself to try it, which I did, And there is no turning back! I LOVE doing this. Your entire body and mind naturally engage in this activity. When you take those few step backs to look at what you painted, it feels very rewarding. More importantly, I truly believe in the criticality of democratizing the access to arts, so that anybody can do it, or simply admire and appreciate it, and street art is the perfect vector for that. So it was natural for me to get to it at some point in my artistic journey. Now, most of the time I have outside my work hours, I invest it in artistic activities. I am continually learning in both the street arts and fine arts paths, and I try to bring my learnings from one to another. And one thing for sure, as you see in my style, I tend to paint on walls in a more realistic way, which I will probably have the opportunity to explain in your next questions!
In your artworks you deal with nature and flowers, but also with graphic arrangements and geometry. It’s really interesting to see how a rose can be a beautiful plant but at the same time have so many geometric structures. You often combine those two perspectives in your work. Tell us more about that.
Nature is so powerful and beautiful. It naturally organizes itself, and we, humans, always have been inspired by that, we’ve always tried to replicate what works well in nature into our inventions and daily lives. Our modern society built mathematical models to represent reality, so maybe it is the more scientific and analytical part of my brain that unconsciously speaks there in my art work, as I simply have always been fascinated by geometric shapes. But if I think about it from a more artistic eye, when you draw using the classic realist method, you always start by drawing with lines, deconstructing the curves to their most basic shapes, which also allows the artist to get to various levels of interpretation, from very realistic to brutal shapes. So there is probably that intention of getting closer to something more raw. I like the idea of deconstructing what we see, and use those ideas to make interesting compositions, with various textures, colors and shapes. I really like how the contrast between organic and geometric shapes can be aesthetically pleasing in a composition.
The structures can be seen everywhere if you look closely. You see them in natural features, could be a plant, a machine or a human being. So when you started painting, you did also drawings of people, but you stopped that. There are still some photos of them on your Instagram channel. So why did you switch to these other motifs? Like the roses and the geometric constellations. Why do you paint them at all? You could also depict the whole thing on a chair or a person’s face. But you tend to choose plants, animals and geometric styles. Why?
The first publications you see on my profile are from my fine arts classes, during which I did a lot of pencil and charcoal drawing. I am still drawing during live model workshops. I am simply not publishing much about it these days.. but maybe soon again though! When I started to paint on walls, I felt like exploring a different theme as I was starting with a new medium. I enjoy painting nature with vibrant colors. I get a lot of inspiration when going into markets, or just walking in the street and appreciating plants and flowers around me. I take a lot of pictures to create my own bank of images to get inspiration for my art work. I also get a lot of inspiration from the still life painting from the Golden age of Flemish and Dutch paintings, with painters like Rachel Ruysch and Daniel Seghers. I love the way they were able to represent nature with such beautiful and vibrant colors. They were using flowers as various symbols of our existence, of our humanity, which speaks to me a lot. With the risk of sounding cheesy, I see flowers as a resilience symbol, a sign of beauty in our sometimes gray world, with everything that is currently happening. So this is why it is important for me to paint those. At some point, I will probably start incorporating portraits in my street art. I don’t think that I will geometrically deconstruct people like I do with nature. I find that the human body is very complex and beautiful, I find a lot of inner peace every time I go to a live model workshop, and I don’t want to change any of it. There is still a lot of beauty in this world, which I find in both nature and people, and I am hoping I can spread a little of this beauty through my art work 🙂
I looked at your picture with the rays a little longer and also at some of the roses, trying to „glide into“ the picture. They are both warm pictures with a positive aura, but at the same time with a door to infinity. Around the ray is the vastness and depth of the sea, the patterns of the roses can be continued endlessly and a bird can fly anywhere into the big world. There is a certain reverence and admiration for the greatness of nature. What do you think of my words? And tell us more about your attitude towards nature.
It is interesting to read someone else’s perspective on my art, which I appreciate from your question. Building on my answers to that, I find a lot of beauty in the world that surrounds us, and I think it is important to pause and appreciate it. It helps to take a step back from our hectic and linear lives sometimes. It puts things in perspective and helps us realize that we are very small, and I couldn’t have chosen better words than you did in your question to express this: reverence and admiration. I am pleased to hear that it shows up in my art. This is also reflected through my engineering career, as I chose to work in the renewable energy sector, because I wanted to put my technical skills at play for a cause I believe to be very important, the environment. Coming back to my art, I really like to leverage the classical realist method I learned in fine arts, and play with light and depth to emphasize the beauty of the world that surrounds us, with both nature and humanity. There are many different artistic styles one could choose to use to convey those emotions. I chose to paint in a more realistic way, because this is the one I personally feel more connected with.
Tell us something about how you create your artworks. Nowadays everything is allowed and basically everything has always been allowed anyway. But what do you use? Do you have a particular choice, what do you prefer, or which colors and instruments are better for which actions? Do you work more with spray cans, or are there special parts which are better with pencils? Do you mix the colors or do you stay with one kind? Some artists only spray, others even use their hands. How is it with you? What is your main tool and which others do you use as well?
I really like your comment about everything being allowed. If there is one thing for which there should be no guidelines or preconceived theories of what one should do, it is arts: the medium, the technique, the message, the intention. For my street art work, I typically prepare the sketch or the drawing on my iPad, with Procreate. When I get to the wall, I only use spray paint. I typically paint on smaller surfaces, and if I were to do much larger walls, I would probably paint some of it with liquid paint, brushes and a roll, to decrease the costs. But there would always be a lot of spray paint involved, because I enjoy the process and everything that you can do with it, which is very unique to this medium. It is very different from what I was used to in my fine art work, so I try to leverage as much as I can what the spray cans have to offer! I like to use a wide range of colors. I started with very vibrant colors, but I am also trying to use more neutral tones now, to create the contrast where I need it to be. Sometimes, if I want to convey a very specific effect, like a very sharp edge to get a 3D effect, I might use something to help me cut some of the edges. Some people may call that cheating, but I don’t: art is also about the connection you can create with the viewer, and if this requires using funky techniques, the artist can do whatever they need to do to achieve the desired impact! Throughout art history, plenty of artists we still talk about today have demonstrated a lot of creativity in their process.
Thanks to the great Patrice Loranger, we got in touch and we started writing, but I was still traveling in Serbia at the time. And now I’m writing you questions, but you are going to traveling now yourself. A funny story, but traveling is not only great, it’s also important. In the next question I will ask you about your upcoming trip, but first tell us something about your past travels. Where have you been, in which countries and for how long? How has this shaped you so far and, above all, where have you already left works of art there? Even if you haven’t painted anything on previous trips, in retrospect these experiences were perhaps pieces of the puzzle for your current work as an artist.
I love this question and everything that goes with it. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to quite a few places so far (or made my own luck?), and each place has been a unique experience. And yes, these experiences were definitely small pieces to the puzzle of my current art work. Being confronted to different realities and cultures, meeting new people, it makes you reflect a lot on how you decide to live your own life. Even if I am proud of my engineering career, I also know that this is not the only thing that defines who I am, and that I want arts to be part of my life. And it is through travelling that I was able to make the decision to make more room for arts in my life. Each time I travel, I try to make connections with the arts, in various ways. Ten years ago, when I was in between two jobs, I spent a month in Barcelona, and I took a few oil painting classes during my stay. I did a similar thing when I travelled to Mexico a year later, and in Cuba many years later. More recently, I spent some time in Puerto Rico, which has a very rich culture, and a strong and inspiring street art scene. I was able to make connections there and paint a little. I’ve travelled to a few other places, but I would say that these were among the most significant ones related to arts. I am also aware that travelling can be contradictory to the importance I give to the environment. Which is a battle I constantly fight in my head, but for now, I will keep doing it. I love meeting new people: every person you meet is an occasion to learn something new, and to become a better version of yourself. Being exposed to other cultures is something I want to continue doing. Being thrown out of my comfort zone in contexts like that is probably some of the most valuable experiences I want to live.
And now let’s look at the current trip. Where are you going and what are your plans? You wrote that you will be in Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague. Why these cities? And what are you planning to do there? Tell us more about your current journey plans.
By the time I finished writing these answers, my trip came to an end and I got back to Montreal. Initially, I went to Berlin to support my sister who ran the Berlin marathon (and before you ask, I am not a runner at all, but I am a really good cheerleader for her!). And, with that initial destination in mind, I decided to extend my stay in Europe and make more out of this trip for myself, and designed what I would call an art journey, both on the street arts and fine arts sides. I wanted to get some inspiration by getting immersed and inspired by art as much as possible. Berlin and Amsterdam are two wonderful scenes for street art. I saw all the beautiful art on the walls of those cities, and also in the museums, at the Urban Nation Museum in Berlin and the STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam. I was also able to connect with a few artists and took some time to paint in Amsterdam at the NDSM legal wall. The Netherlands is also a wonderful country for the fine arts. This spring, at the Montreal Academy of Fine Arts, I had taken a few oil painting workshops, doing copies of old masters (flemish and dutch painters like Rubbens, Van Dyke, Rembrandt), to learn the layering and transparency techniques that defined a lot of the fine arts that we still use today. I was thrilled to visit so many art museums, now that I can look at these beautiful paintings with a very different eye! And during the last part of my trip, I was lucky enough to have a connection at the National Gallery in Prague, my friend, who is a painting conservator there, and she was kind enough to have me visit her restauration studio at the gallery: I could not miss such an opportunity to see those paintings in such a different context. I find art in all its forms very moving, and I am thankful to have such beautiful opportunities, whether it is with the fine arts or the street art. I came back from this trip with so much inspiration and passion, even more eager to make art than before. Life is a journey, and so is art 🙂
Now let’s come back to your home. So Canada and Montréal. What is it like to paint there, tell us a bit more about how easy it is to paint there if you want. Where do you like to go, which places do you go to and where do you like to paint? We already have some of the hot spots on the Montreal Map, can visitors see your works on one of those spots from time to time?
There are indeed a few legal walls in Montreal, which makes it really accessible for any artist that wants to express themselves. I think the first year I started street arts, I was at the Rouen legal wall every week-end! I love to paint there because there are always other artists, and people from the neighborhood walking by, especially on warm and sunny week-end days during the summer. And even if your art work may not last for very long, I appreciate the moment of painting, and getting a little better at it every time. I don’t go there as much as before, but I still do, so yes, sometimes, we can see some of my work there. I try to focus on more permanent projects now. Namely, there are a few street arts festivals in Montreal. I had the opportunity to paint at two of those events this year. I was very thrilled to be part of the 29th edition of Under Pressure, which showcases many different street art styles. I appreciate this event for the diversity of styles. You can find writers and muralists. The festival also showcases other branches of hip-hop and other forms of art. The other festival I was able to participate in is Canettes de Ruelle. Another very friendly event during which many artists paint the backstreets of a neighborhood over a 3-day week-end.
Since you say that you are a beginner in streetart, can you explain to us how we come to integrate this environment in Montreal better? What are your ideas, how can we integrate this more?
I can only speak from my own experience, so I would say if there are legal walls in your city, and that you want to start a journey in the street art world, you should definitely take advantage of those walls! Not only it gives you a place to practice and experiment, it also gives you an opportunity to make connections. Like in any field, having a good community is important. You can learn from each other, and some connections you make can even become really good friendships. And opportunities are possible with a strong community. Not only for you, but some other day you will be the connection for someone else to have an opportunity.
Can you name some of your inspirations in graffiti, streetart and the art world in general? Are there other artists who inspired you? Or maybe somebody who was a role model and gave you impulses. Tell us some words about the ones who motivated you.
I really like Alice Pasquini’s work, and how she depicts femininity, never objectifying women. I like the narrative of her art work. I also really like how Vhils plays with the structure of the wall to create inspiring and unique portraits that integrate well in their environment. Portraits can conduct strong emotions, and he does this really well through his unique art. I also have a lot of admiration for Alexis Diaz, a reknown artist from Puerto Rico. I can’t continue writing without mentioning some of the wonderful artists I met in Montreal, with whom I sometimes paint. They all definitely played a significant role in my integration in the street art scene in Montreal. I recently started to collaborate with MARINE MARTINELLI aka MART. Not only do I think our styles fit well together, the process of creating art work with her is also really rewarding. We trust each other. At this legal wall where I usually go, one of the first who included me in the group is ALDARWIN, who is so welcoming and always joyful. I also feel extremely lucky to be painting with OMAR BERNAL and HOSPEK sometimes, two extremely talented and creative artists with a lot of experience, in addition to being genuinely kind people. The four of them (with many more) definitely inspire me to continue doing street art.
How do you deal with the legal / illegal side of graffiti and streetart? Do you have a position on this? Surely you have, so tell us your thoughts and how you think about the „urban space“, about who owns it and who is „allowed“ to do things there.
I truly see art as an essential vector of resilience and positivity. The simple gesture to put some color somewhere is an act of resiliency. It brings us closer to our humanity, in all its imperfections, which I find beautiful. So I think it is important to accept both the illegal and legal forms of street art, which can both become social statements. I chose not to do illegal graffiti, but I understand why other artists may do it, and the importance it can have, and definitely has had in very critical moments of history.
You have painted with many other artists over the years and have been involved in several events. Have you joined any groups or crews? Or are you more of an independent artist who works alone but likes to be with others as a guest? Are there any collectives that you are part of? If not, why? Or would you like to?
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What about exhibitions and presentations of your art inside galleries and art spaces? Have you already had any? And if not, are there any planned or would you like to do some?
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That brings us to the end of our interview. You’ve given us a very interesting insight into your creative world, and it remains exciting to see what’s to come. And that’s also the last question. What are your plans for the future? Are there any new ideas or projects in the pipeline? Are there any new trips planned?
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INFOTHEK
Artist: JADE BILODEAU
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadebilodeau.art
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