Artist in Residence:
Happy New Year Marcel Prefontaine!
With all the LED and compact florescent high tech that usually illuminates my night life it was a real treat to ring in 2010 with friends in their backyard work shed under the glow of gas lamps and candlelight. The December 31st minus forty degree wind chills and Mr. Bobby Bendig’s burst water pipes were no match for the well stoked wood stove and good company. Over the past few years we’ve discovered that Bruno Saskatchewan is not only home to some of Canada’s finest broomball players but to many talented crafters, artists, poets, musicians and writers. Part of the All Citizens agenda is to provide space for local creative types to display, exhibit and sell whatever it is they do and make. Marcel Prefontaine has had carvings, drawings, and paintings in our shop from the very beginning so he’ll be the first, among many fine Bruno citizens, that we proudly introduce to you.
AC: When did you start making art?
MP: Since the definition and perception of art is quite subjective, I would have to say that I made my debut as an artist at the age of two. I am told that I had drawn a picture of a fish, my parents bedroom wall being my canvas. When I found myself busted, I blamed it on my aunt who was living with us at the time. I have been interested in and doing art for as long as I can remember.
AC: How did you learn?
MP: I quess it was a talent which was “my gift” at birth. I was never unable to draw, and I don’t remember anyone ever teaching me. My father did taxidermy as a hobby and I was his elected critic at a very young age. He would usually make the recommended changes when I wasn’t watching!
AC: What types of materials do you like to use?
MP: I do my art using a wide variety of media including pencil, colored pencil, acrylic paint and wood. Combining drawing and wood carving fulfills an inherited interest in wood working by adding an element of artistic creativity.
AC: What subjects interest you?
MP: Wildlife has always been my main subject of choice but I like to diversify my subject matter as well as media. I find that any subject I choose has an almost human-like character. Drawing people, especially children seems to help in giving all my drawings a personality, such as the stories that an abandoned old house may appear to tell.
AC: What are you working on now?
MP: I am currently working on a Mallard duck relief carving and a full body Snow Goose, both painted with acrylic. Working on more than one piece at a time gives me a regrouping break when one subject is not going well or when I am obsessing with perfection! I also like to cast some of my relief carvings with plaster of paris or plastic resin and applying a unique finish to each such as full color or glazed antique white on a wooden plaque. This satisfies my insatiable appetite for new challenges.
January 1, 2010