Born in Montreal in 1959, Jean-Louis Courteau is self-taught, notwithstanding his college studies in visual arts, the classes of which he admits have skipped more than his share…
A passionate lover of nature, Courteau mostly paints landscapes, although he was once defined as an animal painter. His workshop : the great outdoors, often Lake Baskatong where he goes to paint, living alone under a tent on an island, soaking in impressions received from those great surroundings, especially the light : « The light is what counts, the subject is merely a pretext », which is particularly apparent in Courteau’s underwater scenes (he is also an avid diver).
Courteau makes colour vibrate, inviting us to immerse ourselves in the painting until its subject is forgotten, leaving the shapes, impressions and atmosphere emanating from it to be perceived.
