Patricia Bellerose was the overall winner in PleinAir magazine’s April/May Salon contest for a piece that also won Best Floral — but she doesn’t see it as a floral painting.

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“La belle s’enfuit,” by Patricia Bellerose, oil, 12 x 10 in.

To be sure, there are a lot of flowers in “Roxane au Jardin,” but for Bellerose, it was all about the figure. The model was the daughter of a friend. “The subject for me was the girl, and I loved the light that played on the girl,” says the artist. “We were in the garden and I chose the place because the background was very colorful. She was the principal subject; the rest just complements the girl.”

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“De l’huile sur le feu,” oil, 36 x 30 in.

The impasto technique on display was another focus of the work, according to Bellerose. Although the vegetation and flowers behind the girl were secondary, the Canadian painter spent quite a bit of time on the background. “I like to paint the movement of a scene, make it look not so still,” she says. “I like to work with the background to get movement into the painting.”

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“Jeune femme à l’orée du bois,” by Patricia Bellerose, oil, 24 x 24 in.

Bellerose began painting eight years ago, and she’s represented by four galleries in the province of Quebec. Her goal is to secure representation in the United States. Bellerose happily paints a variety of subjects, from figures to still lifes to landscapes. “There is no subject matter I’m not interested in,” she says. “I want to have a large range of things that I can do.”

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“La belle pieds nus,” by Patricia Bellerose, oil, 8 x 6 in.

This is definitely an artist who can roll with the changes … even when it’s a top win in an international salon competition. But Bellerose’s award did blindside her somewhat. “I received the e-newsletter and saw the picture and I was in shock,” she says. “I’m hoping to expand upon it.”


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