THE PAINTER

In 2003, further to some developments in her personal life, Johanne Larouche has met with a great art that would transform her life: painting. As of then, she felt as if she had been pushed so hard into a totally new universe that some inner dyke had given away. Her body responded violently with streams of tears… tears of gratefulness, well-being, and above all freedom. Thanks to this rebirth, she could finally engage in a life path where she would be able to express herself in complete liberty, which she had never before allowed herself to experience. At the time, she was still unaware the unsaid would come to life through this medium…

This painter is well grounded, thanks to an artistic approach reflecting the most important things in a well-balanced life, such as nature, health, and physical and mental well-being. On the other hand, her Venusian aptitudes, with a certain charming, aesthetic and emotional quality, combine themselves with her creativity. This woman of action makes use of both hemispheres of her brain, thus creating a form of synergy on which she draws at will. Her paintings are overrun with vegetation. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables are totally exposed. Her figurative art — mainly expressed in acrylic, oil and mortar — is a life experience in itself; it is clearly distinguishable from any other. It strikes us, delights us, and even makes our mouth water. Nature, in its luxuriance, is consumed and savoured by the artist. She talks about it. She paints about it.

At that point, however, life had not yet revealed all its secrets to Johanne. At the end of 2006, she discovered that the man she had always called “papa” was not her biological father, and eventually met with the one to whom she owed her existence. She then realized that the inspiration and motivation behind each of her works had always been this unconscious search for her own roots. Freed from lies, she started investigating her own biology, finally understanding why the continuous search for authenticity had always been such an important part of her life.

The full meaning of her motto, “Nature, a wonderful sight”, was then revealed. This crucial need to see her life clearly, to discover her roots, has unconsciously driven her to communicate the importance of leaving Nature and all its elements unaltered. That would certainly become — more and more — her primary source of inspiration…

That period was certainly not sterile. On the contrary, with its numerous developments, it became a moment of introspection, giving the artist an opportunity to vary her approach and walk down unexplored paths.

Only then did Johanne understand why she had never been able to include an entire tree, symbol of the father, in her compositions: it was due to the absence of relationship with her biological father (who she did not even know existed until then), and to a 15-year break-up in her relationship with her legitimate father.

Originally, only fruits, symbols of childhood, were found in this artist’s works. Cut in halves, they seemed torn apart by life the same way she was. She then went trough a period where fruits would be shown floating in space, rootless, searching for a healthy and fertile soil; that period was undoubtedly influenced by the ignorance of her biological origin. Finally, branches appeared in her works: the mother figure was making her entrance, and the artist was welcoming her embrace. Until then, Johanne had painted the invisible part of her existence… however, not knowing how to capture those vibrations coming from a hidden part of her life.

Following a period of integration, year 2008 witnessed the apparition of trees on the canvas; they would from then on be part of Johanne’s works. Without resistance, she was greeting her own history… her own roots.

In her works, the artist is now free to include the man, the one who must provide protection, who plays an important role in every woman’s life. He is transposed in the form of a tree, stock, trunk and leaves included. He is magnified in is full splendour, his full strength, his full size.

Those deep roots connecting her with her community through almost palpable feelings, Johanne Larouche now feels they are as deeply anchored as a tree in the ground. Although her works might appear to be somewhat simple, they are nonetheless complex, reflecting her real appreciation: apreciation of life, love of the imposing spectacle offered by creation, and love of the preservation of it all. Indeed, she has a fierce desire to protect creation.

She sees herself not as a crator, of course, but as a faithfull
craftswoman.Not a commander, however a stout-hearthed knight.

For this artist, the message now appears loud and clear: lies dry up the source of a creative life; finding the source again allows for the freeing of creation!

Each of Johanne Larouche’s works is a show in itself! The author stages marvellous actors: elements of nature, and we, the public, can only agree with her approach. After all, we share the same space and planet, and like this wonderful artist-painter, we long for free expression, honesty, and total liberty.

Diane Larocque
Consultante en communications et relations publiques