About the artist
Rachelle Chartrand was born and raised in Northern Alberta, Canada. She showed an interest and passion for art at a very young age. Painting every surface that she could get her hands on. Paper, cardboard, scraps of wood, even the walls of her house (her parents did not approve). She would gather all of her creations and walk door to door proudly “selling” the art works.
This obsession for painting continued to grow over the years. Shortly after graduating from High-School she moved to Red Deer, Alberta to extend her education in fine art at Red Deer College. After completing her studies in Red Deer she moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) and obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting.
As an abstract artist, Rachelle became attracted to the emotional reaction triggered by her paintings. Creating emotions with colour, texture, strong composition and design. Being able to tell a story, express a state of mind or simply lose one’s self is Rachelle’s main objective.
Artist statement
“For most of my life, painting has been my passion, The blending and mixing of color and texture is therapeutic to me. Through my art work I can express the wonder and emotions I feel about the world I live in. I consider it my escape, my therapy.
Someone once told me “art is life”, I truly believe this. Art is consuming, it is a living energy that has overtaken most of my life. Art has helped me explore myself, it has healed my heart, allowed me to grow and has inspired new ways of seeing my world.
I try to express this in my work. I believe that art has the ability to heal, to calm, to energize and to inspire. I want to share this discovery with my audience. I want the viewers to feel, to remember or to simply lose themselves in the emotionally charged imagery.
Through the combination of colour, gesture, layers, juxtaposition between order and chaos and the physical and spiritual aspects of painting, each image manifests a truly unique entity."