Submersion

Francois Chartier was the Second Prize Winner in International Artist magazine’s Challenge No. 142 Florals & Gardens.

After 30 years in the advertising world as an art director and illustrator, Montreal-based artist Francois Chartier finally made the transition to full-time artist. “I deeply think that artwork should inspire,” he says, adding that he loves to create a joyful, colorful and luminous aesthetic in his paintings.

Good Morning Morning, oil on canvas, 40 x 84"

“My choice of painting subject is usually dictated by the rhythm, shape, color, light and shadow I obtain by staging objects or flowers,” he says. “The themes of many of my paintings explore the relationship of light with reflective and transparent surfaces, as they echo my journey to understand these qualities and convey my sense of wonder and intrigue over them. I aim to tell a story that expresses my unique vision, to create an image that first moves me and hopefully moves the viewer.”

The Sky is the Limit, oil on canvas, 48 x 60"

Lately the artist has been exploring his water and paper series, in which he submerges flowers and fabric in water set against a black background. Paintings like Good Morning Morning and Sky is the Limit feature white florals and brightly colored fabrics that feel even more saturated when contrasted with the dark void in which they float. “In weightlessness and suspension, surrounded by air bubbles and light rays, the flowers are really magic. I cannot control all aspects of the interaction between these objects but the images created are often beyond my expectations,” he says. “I try as much as possible to personalize each painting with my own vision to make them unique.”