Eau Qui Dort by Danielle Richard

I love paintings that suggest hidden stories. This is one such work. It was painted by Poetic Realist artist Danielle Richard.

Stylistically, Danielle paints this work with long, flowing lines which flow across her canvas - and these create a mood of tranquility. Check it out sometime when you find yourself looking at a panoramic view of the countryside and you will see what I mean.
The water has gentle, languid waves which lull the senses. The boat with the young woman is positioned horizontally and there is geometric harmony between the two. Now, when you look above the subject, you will also note the long horizontal line of the shore to compliment the picture.
I like the way Danielle draws the viewer's eye into her work, beginning at the bottom left corner with the reflection. Our vision is directed upwards to up to where the woman's hand dips into the water.
Note how, water, reflection and hand, blend together. Taking it on another level, the emotional state of the woman, becomes an intricate part of the physical setting of this work.

The blurring of definition between the senses and the physical properties of the picture, is complimented by the blurring of the trees along the shoreline. Its all part of the same package. It follows, that this blurring of the division between the warmth of water, air and light, also applies to the woman - where the warm sun on her body, and the gentle drift of her hand through the water, result in a certain blurring of her inner state and that of her external world. It is easy to interpret the warm sun on the woman's skin, and her reclining posture, and her hand in the water in sensual terms. Does this make sense?

Following this up, the entire package is presented with a warm, rich, golden, palette. If we accept that there is a relationship between the techniques Danielle uses to present her subject and her environment, then it follows that the woman on the boat is embraced in warm, sensual, languid, emotions. But, we really don't know that do we?

While its up to the viewer to read whatever we wish into the woman on the boat, I am of the opinion that Danielle skillfully created the format which guides us along along certain paths of thought. Its all so skillfully woven together that it is nothing short of being a masterful painting. Beautiful work, Danielle


If you wish to see more of Danielle's work, then you are invited to please click here.

Meet Danielle Richard - Quebec City Artist

Danielle Richard, is a Quebec City, artist who labels her work as Poetic Realism.

Very early in life, she was fascinated by the world of pictorial art. For as long as she can remember, she has always been surrounded by the tools “for making works of art”: gouache, distemper, pastels, etc. Upon reaching adolescence, she wasted no time deciding on her future... “I loved painting and it seemed only natural for me to become an artist!”

So she began her studies in art: a CEGEP degree in plastic arts, university studies in visual arts, semesters abroad, artist training trips… “I spent more and more time in the museums of Europe, which gave me the creative nourishment that both humbled me and inspired me on. Before a particularly striking work, it always seemed clear to me that I had to take up the quest for beauty and harmony that so many other artists had begun before me.” Her fascination with the singularity of light is something that has and will probably always inspire the works of Danielle Richard.

She received grants from the Quebec government and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation on two occasions (Scholarships I and II). The first helped her to refine her knowledge of original lithography at the Dona Miro studio in Montreal, and the second made it possible to take a semester abroad on “Watercolor in English landscapes” at the University of Oxford in Great Britain. In 1994, she became the youngest artist to be featured in a retrospective at Villa Bagatelle in Quebec City.

Each of her exhibitions has met with a warm and enthusiastic response from the public. She never ceases to be moved when she realizes “that after so much time spent in solitude putting to canvas these faces, places, and emotions, someone somewhere is touched” by her art.

She says that she has enough projects and wonderful images stored in her mind to keep her busy for the rest of her days... “That tells me I chose the right path.”

extracted from 'The Group of Twelve', website. Please click here to visit the site.

To visit Danielle's website, please click here.