Doris Charest

Unlike most artists with a born talent for the arts, Doris Charest was taught to see. Usually people have no background in art being able to draw the average stickman with clothes. As a society we admire the talents we don’t posses ourselves. That changed for Doris Charest when she was brought to her neighbor's painting class. Enjoying the experience, she soon ventured into the world of art. After sampling the class in watercolor, she then tried numerous mediums before choosing her favorite, acrylics. They dry fast which is excellent for multimedia. “I do a lot of mixed media” Mixed media usually deals with multiple layers, the faster the layer dries the more layers that can be added on.

Charest (1956) has completed a total of 5 murals, 2 of which lie in Legal. It began in Edmonton with a french association. “I tried it and it was fun, it was just like painting something, but big” Charest was to paint The honey bee from her hometown Salter, Alberta. The project was a community mural for the francophones. Her art style is described as trendy looking yet simplified forms. Charest enjoys putting subtle symbolism in her paintings. “So people find something new every time they look at it. That way its always a surprise” “A mural”, she says, “takes about 2-3 months to complete” but the work is spread so evenly throughout the period that theres only a 2-3 weeks of solid work. The research and sketch to create the mural takes longer then the actual painting of the mural. Her inspiration comes from Diego Rivera a famous Mexican mural artist, “He was the king of murals” She dreams of traveling to Mexico City to see his work with her own eyes.

Not only has she done murals, but has her work displayed in 3 galleries and has won best in shows. Charest has also won an award from the Federation of Canadian Artist. She is credited for her bachelor in education and a degree in fine arts. She is currently working on a masters degree. This St Albert resident has a family of 4, a boy and a girl both attending university. As a part time job she teaches one class of art at Facultée St Jean in french every week.

Jacque Martel

Jacque Martel, local artist, illustrates a terrifying past. Martel,(Born 1960) paints a new mural for the town of Legal about the injustice of the Rwanda Genocide. With the grand unveiling of his masterpiece on July 23rd during fete au village.

Originally another artist was to paint the Rwanda mural but unfortunately he was preoccupied at the time. Once Ernest Chauvet, president of the local Francophone Association, found out he called Martel to see if he would take up the challenge. It took Martel two to three-hundred hours to complete his murals.This one was a way to honour our military families. A way to thank them discretely because its never easy being a military soldier. “Another reason I wanted to do it was because of my father” Martel’s father has worked for Canada’s Air force for 20 years. As for his aunt, she was a nun in Africa for forty years. Teaching music and math in Uganda. Being only that of an hours drive to Rwanda from where she was stationed, she recognized the area well. This gave the inspiration Martel needed to paint this mural, in dedication to his dad.

Martel showcases a soldier, Romeo Dallaire, carrying a little girl, who has been killed, by the war. He is bringing her back into her empty village. While at the the same time the Iraq oil wars are flourishing. The world was narrowly focused on Iraq that it took a blind eye towards Rwanda. From the distance comes a road, to represent the future, with two choices, “that it can go back to the way it was, the fighting or theres hope on the other side” To symbolize a growing prosperous future Martel has painted a boy having fun playing soccer, by two mothers. One is smiling but the other with a not-so-certain expression on her face. To complete the mural Martel finished it of with a ribbon that *touches every place the United Nations has served.

Martel is a self taught artist, born in Gimily, Manitoba. Martel has been an artist since the age of 16. “I wanted to make a living out of it” Now he works for Amyottes award and promotions as a graphics designer. When he isn’t working for Ammyottes he is a painter creating masterpieces with his oil paints. “ I do it everyday as a part time full time [job]” But possibly Martel is most famous for his title as mural artist. Martel has used his creative ability and super-sized it. He has completed a total of 12 murals, 7 of which are located in Legal and 2 tableaus in the St Jean Baptist park. His acquaint eye for detail and bright lively colours separates this artist from the rest.

Jacque Martel, Husband, father of 5 and local artist releases his new masterpiece to the town of Legal July 23rd.

Karen Blanchet

Karen Blanchet is a full time artist, mural artist and overall a creative being. Blanchet, (Born 1952) is Legal’s newest artist. Beginning in 1998 with “Les Soeurs-Gris” Blanchet’s first mural was a real learning curb. “I have never done anything near that size. It was really interesting” As of anything one learns from one’s mistakes. Blanchet learned many things, during her first efforts at a mural. For instance cement needs to cure for three months, paint runs off the wall when its too cold and curbing walls distort projected images. “So yeah I learned an awful lot of what not to do.”

When drawing a mural the artist is not only creating a picture thats visually pleasing to the eye but telling a story. They must pick which images to display on the mural to convey an action or emotion. Blanchet for instance reads up on the history of some of her murals. “History is interesting, its very personal like the anecdote. Its the anecdote about the people that’s so interesting” Once the artist knows the history and the criteria, they pick out the prime pictures for the mural. “I pick the things that I know I can make a visual impact with.”

Karen has painted 4 murals in Legal but 8 murals in total from in and around the area. David Frechette came to Karen and asked if she would like to paint a mural for the town. She says she enjoys her work and has continued in developing her style. Blanchet enjoys using multimedia. “I like mixing and blending and combing” Like patch work she mixes and matches everything, mediums and photos. She enjoys taking scenic shots, and pairing it up with portraits and figures. A person could notice this by simply taking a glance at Blanchet’s first mural. There are many pictures, figures and landscapes in the mural. To bring it together Blanchet paints daisies through out the picture. She picked daisies because the translation of Marguerite from French to English is Daisy. So the mural is symbolically unified by the spirit of Saint Marguerite d'Youville. “I really like the play on words” It was definitely a larger idea to paint. With so many aspects the Grey Nuns have done, Blanchet certainly covered a lot. From the journey to Lac St. Anne, education of the first nations, Father Lacomb and the places and people they have touched. She also had emphasis on the care of the sick and the elderly and the education in Legal. Blanchet painted a nun that lived in the community for 35 years, sanding next to the class she taught. “There was an awful lot to take into that mural, it’s complicated.”

Karen Blanchet has always loved art, right since the begging. Her mom would give her all kinds of materials to work with. “She put pencils in my hands and I drew, and I always loved drawing and painting” This love for art continued, and now she is a full time artist with a bachelor in arts, honors in french, professional in teaching, and has dabbled in the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydnee, Australia. She currently lives in Legal and has a family of 4 kids, one granddaughter and a soon to be grandson. While in her studio she enjoys to paint works of art with oils and watercolors. A truly a creative being.

Marc Michaud

Marc Michaud, acclaimed artist has illustrated many paintings to restore the towns history while adding colour back in the community. Walking downtown Legal there is an abundance of striking murals several of which were painted by former local artist Michaud in the past decade.

Michaud, (Born 1973), was into art from a young age. “Before I could remember, I don’t really remember not drawing or enjoying it.” It started with doodling then he graduated to taking lessons from a close family friend. By the age of 19 he accepted the chance to paint his very first mural. Ernie Chauvet, president of the local Francophone Association, had this idea to paint murals around town. While highlighting the Francophone contribution to the community, the murals were also meant to attract tourists.

Chauvet originally asked Marc’s younger brother Daniel, who declined the offer, seeing himself as unprepared to take such a task. Chauvet then suggested the idea to Marc “I said yes then wrangled my younger brother into helping me.” Their first mural labelled “Gelot” is of the founding family of Legal. This mural took 10 weeks, but was well worth it. Marc remembers,” We were 17 to 19 then and we had other priorities on the weekends.” Their fame in creativity landed them another job. Michaud believes that the sponsoring families enjoyed having local artists paint portraits. Over the next 10 years they would create a total of 8 murals for the community. Michaud enjoys having the chance to paint for Legal. With his brother Daniel, living out of province as well as himself living in Gatineau, Quebec, it gives them both a chance to work and visit with everyone.

When Michaud isn’t painting a mural he juggles the tasks of being a stay at home father and graphic novel author. Arche 29, is a sci-fi graphic novel Michaud has been illustrating for the past little while.

Of all the murals Michaud and his brother have painted, he loves each and every one. However, the trompe l’oeuil takes the cake. “ I really like it because it stands out so much from the others.” Unlike his past works, this latest mural, using the artistic style “trompe oeuil”, painted in 2007, it isn’t a traditional historical mural, but is more modern with a contemporary artist style to it. The mural forms the eye of their mother, from far away. As a person moves closer they see about a hundred and forty portraits making up the eye. Local community members gave $50 to have their faces painted on the mural and in the end it truly became a community project again reflecting the local support to its visual arts.