J. Allison Robichaud was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, in 1931. He is today an internationally renowned, highly respected landscape painter and elected member of the Institute of Figurative Art. He has worked in the great outdoors for decades, seeking to create meaningful artworks that embody, in every gesture, an emotional response to the great landscape of Canada. In this way, Robichaud has demonstrated a life-long passion for art. Earlier in 2008, Robichaud’s work was selected by Ford Canada to be part of an exhibit entitled Machine Meets Art. His work was part of a very exclusive exhibit at the Pop-up Gallery in the Toronto Distillery District, and was used by Ford in their re-launched ford.ca website (Ford Canada) He has exhibited in more than twenty four solo exhibitions, innumerable group exhibitions and in some of the most prestigious symposiums throughout Canada. Robichaud was included in International Artist magazine’s feature article "Master Painters of the World - Canada" in June 2004. Robichaud is also author of the book, The Reflective Stepping Stones of a Painter , published in 2002 (see below for excerpts of the book).
J. Allison Robichaud manages despite a busy schedule to meet up at least 3 or 4 times yearly with long-time colleague Stuart Main to paint in the great Quebec outdoors, and in his own words: "...he is 74 this year and I am 76, we are the sage old painters now, Shit! Anyways, I logged in my 55th (painting) for the year yesterday, so slowing down isn't happening."
D.G.Coupal and J. Allison Robichaud first met in 1995 at a week long painting excursion in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, organized by the late Bruce Le Dain, PPRCA.
Some of the galleries that carry his work are:
Studio 737
Scollard Street Gallery
Tay River Gallery
J.Allison Robichaud can be contacted at:
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THE REFLECTIVE STEPPING STONES OF A PAINTER
Excerpts from the book by J. Allison Robichaud, published November 2002. To purchase copies of the inspiring, insightful book, do not hesitate to contact the author directly.
From Chapter One: THE WHOLE NOTION OF BEING A PAINTER
... The notion of being a painter is charged with obsession. I am completely in love with what I do, and for the most part I have a lot of fun. Success comes to those who love what they do. Speak to any painter and she will admit that each new painting is a love affair. I don’t know of many true paitners who do not, once completing a work, simply look at it from as many angles as they can, scanning with unbelievable intensity and admiration the birth a new creation. For the true painter, this observation process also includes looking for a way to improve the work perhaps for some subtle nuance needed to bring the whole composition into more perfect balance and harmony.
A painter’s love affair, of course, lasts only until the next birth. With the power of being able to create comes the inner strength to destroy. It is here that the painter faces despair, for he knows that to advance, he must sometimes trample on his past work. As nature does through evolution, so must he. Only the finest can go on. (p.3)
… Being stubborn, I hold to the premise that no one can help me paint in the way I want to paint. Others argue to the contrary, but they don’t hold my brush. If you think someone can tell you how much pressure you should put on a stroke, how you should make the brush move or how you should interpret colours, then take a long look at your signature. There is no one who writes like you except you. If you remain true to your point of view, your paintings will look like you, and they will become easily recognized by others as yours to such an extent it will become unnecessary to sign them. (p. 5)
… To be a painter is to be completely obsessed with the idea that you have something to express. Your mission is to be forever reaching inside trying as best you can to bring this expression outside yourself, to the ‘without,’ in the form of a visual image on a canvas, which others choose to call a painting. Getting from the ‘within’ to ‘the without’ is transmitting your imagination into reality. It is understanding that despite the hundreds of attempts necessary to achieve this, successfully expressing yourself will open the doors leading to the hallways of opportunity. (p.8)
From Chapter Two: WORK ETHICS
... It is truly amazing that, despite knowing better, we find it impossible to release the creativity that we know resides within us. Also, hiding there are the voices that criticize our best efforts to express our uniqueness. These voices are the voices of conformity, the voices that put us in boxes, where all good little boys and girls should be. These are the voices of parents, neighbours, teachers, peers, who, not through any malice, were doing the ‘best’ for us. They were looking out for our future and creativity, which when it departed from the known, was a no-no. The suppression of this desire to create affects everyones life.
Watch people and you will see their constant, continual efforts to be recognized for their uniqueness. Wanting to be a painter is also wanting everyone to look at you and say, ‘You have such talent; that’s beautiful; I wish I could do that.’ What they do not know is thatto get to that stage, an enormous leap into the unknown, transcending the voices of the past to demonstrate creative courage, is necessary.
How do we get to where we can complete the act of creating is something that did not exist, until we brought it into existence? We’re tired, we’ve worked all day, there are other things to do on the weekend, there are other presssing commitments. …
Well, let me give you the magic word: ‘Compel’. It is not the word of reason. It is the word of submission. It is your whip, the word that will get you up and help you say to yourself, ‘I can do that.’ Still, like all words that we use to motivate ourselves, the word ‘compel’ is a word you must truly buy into. … If you buy into the need to compel yourself, your world will change, and the surge of confidence to attempt the impossible will manifest itself into your very being. (p.12)
A FEW MORE RECENT WORKS
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