Hélène Montpetit, Comtemporary Visual Artist

Hélène Montpetit's artistic career spans more than half a century. She has been a singer-songwriter, puppeteer, storyteller, poet, craftswoman and painter. She was born in the small historic town of Lachine, Quebec in October 1954.

Nicknamed "the artist in the family", she showed an aptitude for drawing, music and dance from an early age. In her community, the arts sector had a bad reputation, so it wasn't possible for her to take classes or be professionally mentored. However, she found in her mother an ally whose support came in the form of gifts of artists' materials and demanding criticism. Hélène was always drawing, imagining stories and illustrating them. She is still proud of the Bobino token she received from her favorite childhood television show La boite à surprises for a drawing she submitted to a contest.

In her early twenties, she began working with oil paints and joined a collective of craftspeople to explore batik and screen printing. She went on to work in communications for NGOs, business associations, and community groups, gaining practical experience in graphic design.

Although her work is easily recognisable, Hélène does not aim for uniformity. She can tend towards figurative realism or veer towards pop art or expressionism, depending on what a project inspires. Her piece Momma Told Me There'd Be Days Like This won the Judges' Choice Award at the Artistes à Montréal Valentine's Day Virtual Exhibition in 2022. Her acrylic painting Fall The Dancer won an honourable mention in the True North competition organized by the New York group See Me in May 2023. More recently, three of her works were exhibited at Galerie d'art Viva Vida's 15th annual Celebration exhibition of small format and one-of-a-kind pieces.

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