Struck by Nature

Philippe Giroux was the Grand Prize winner of International Artist magazine’s Challenge No. 119, Seascapes, Rivers & Lakes

Around 1979 when Philippe Giroux made his debut as an artist, he was primarily working in pointillism, but he transitioned in 1984 to trades related to the art field. For 30 years, he worked as a graphic designer, set designer, window dresser, copy artist, muralist and was a finish painter of imitation woods, marbles and materials. In 2014, at age 55, he returned to a fine art career. Land of the Waters, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 36"

Today, he works in a style that has been described by F. X. Lopez, a professor of art history, as “baroque realism.” The works, done in smooth applications of acrylic to create a lifelike scene on canvas, often are inspired by the natural world. “I draw a large part of my inspiration from the sea, rivers, streams and lakes of the Gaspé. Water is my life. I was an excellent swimmer, I practiced sailing and I have been fishing the rivers in my county for many years,” says Giroux.

To gather inspiration, Giroux visits waterways and takes photos of scenes that catch his eye. He shares, “From one or a few of these photos I compose my painting and choose the format of the canvas. The composition is done partly on the computer and partly on paper, according to the intuition of the moment or the recommendations of a client.”Blue Charm, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 48"

The Parallel Universes, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30"

His past as a specialist painter has added another dimension to his techniques. Being able to replicate surfaces, such as wood and marble, allowed him to learn how rocks and trees should appear in his paintings as well as how to depict the transparencies and reflections of water.

Giroux often experiments by painting water in all of its variations from one canvas to the next. This can be seen in Land of the Waters where he “wanted something smoother and smoother in motion, almost completely abandoning the use of pointillism.” In this work, the contrasts are strong, and he paid attention to the three-dimensionality of the rocks and the perspective of the place. Blue Charm uses the pointillism technique to give rhythm to the current passing. Explaining the piece, Giroux says, “Blue Charm is a waltz of blues in the wake of a small waterfall, a search for rhythm and nuances. Supported by the strong contrast of black and white, the blues engage in an endless dance.”The Time Sculptor, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 24"

Blues Rock, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36"In his painting Blues Rock, Giroux paints a smaller section of a river where you can see through the water to what is beneath. “Near a river, a stream, the micro-landscapes attract my attention with their shapes, colors, movements or by their graphic lines,” he says. “Blues Rock is an opportunity to confuse realism and abstraction, to produce a work that at first glance seems abstract, but is in fact very realistic. Also it confuses solid matter and liquid matter in a simple melody of color.”The Paré Stream, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 48"

Another work blending the real and abstract is The Parallel Universes, where the reflections and cropped view of the fisherman above are unique compositional elements. “The parallel universes, it is the mirror of Alice that we cross by sinking into our passions. When fishing, as when in front of the easel, I cross it and forget the rest of the world. The loner goes into reveries,” says Giroux. “The hyperrealist work is strongly contrasted. Shadows and lights reinforce the three-dimensionality of the elements. Upon observation, the viewer will easily perceive the reflection of the fisherman. More observant, still, is the one who will notice the reflection of the bridge.” —