Autumn, 36" x 60"

Acrylic on Canvas.

"It was in October 2022, the gloom of autumn was felt. After a string of bad news, my only priority was to go have fun with colours. This is the view from my studio window in Shefford, QC that day."

Melanie Lefebvre’s work is informed by the region in which she lives, in particular the forest. The artist’s approach to her work is analytical and contemplative and her in-depth observations of her natural surroundings lead her to depict landscapes that are both detailed and romantic. The Forêt body of work explores certain connections between human beings and trees, by inspecting the emotions that bubble to the surface when walking through a forest and realizing that the soil under your feet is teeming with life. A constant cycle of renewal through seasons, under different angles of sunlight.

Each painting invites viewers to truly immerse themselves in the forest, so they can better observe, smell, hear and reconnect with it. Through the play of light and by altering the dimensions of a subject, the artist shows how you can interpret a landscape in many different ways. Thus the depiction of say, a smudge of paint, can also be viewed as a particular shape, a splash of light, a piece of textured material – harking back to the spontaneity and distorted imagery that were characteristic of the Impressionist and Expressionist movements.