Helene Montpetit
Île-Bizard, Quebec
Creator of expressive images. I paint people because I love them.
Message
Hélène Montpetit (b. 1954, Lachine, Canada) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Ile-Bizard, Canada, working primarily in painting and drawing. Employing graphite, pastels, watercolour, and acrylics, she is best known for her character studies and socially engaged works that capture the human condition with depth and sensitivity.
Montpetit's subject matter focuses on individuals in both exceptional and ordinary settings, with the artist's stated aim to create art that moves people and inspires them to meaningful action. Her practice is characterized by a profound engagement with contemporary global issues and the rich complexity of human experience. Notable projects include Fudgesicle/Apocalypse, a three-part series responding to contemporary global crises—from conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza to extreme weather events. In this series, she employs medieval painting tropes, devices, and colours to pose urgent questions about humanity's role as both destroyer and potential restorer of planetary balance. Her series Memories, Real and Imagined revisits her recollections of growing up in the 1950s and 60s, rendered in a style that embraces the contemporary revaluation of illustrative aesthetics within fine art. Through expressive line work and compositional immediacy, she captures the essence of character—gesture, expression, and presence—while blurring the boundaries between personal memory and cultural documentation.
Montpetit is exhibiting at Viva Vida Art Gallery in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Canada, and online in The Great Canadian Art Show. Her works are held in private collections. She has participated in Artists in Montreal Member Exhibitions, the Scotiabank Contact Festival's third annual Forms, Faces & Spaces, figuratively speaking! at the Upper Sisnett Lobby, Helson Gallery in Georgetown, Ontario, and the See|Me True North online Exhibition in New York, USA.
Recognized with a judge's choice award and two honourable mentions in juried art competitions.
Statement
I paint with acrylics, often on large canvases—up to 36 x 48 inches. I also draw using mixes of graphite, pastels, ink and paint.
My process begins with photographic references, but I never aim for photo-realism. Instead, I allow the subject to evolve intuitively, shaped by emotional response and quiet observation. The image is interpreted, not copied; it emerges slowly, carrying its own rhythm and voice. I don’t impose meaning—I listen for it. This approach is evident in the Memories, Real and Imagined series and continues in my recent work.
The Fudgesicle/Apocalypse series marks a shift toward explicit narrative. Structured in three parts, it begins with a reflection on global upheaval—war, climate crisis, displacement. The second part considers what must change to build a more just and sustainable future. The final section highlights individuals and communities responding to these challenges with creativity and courage. Drawing on the visual language of medieval art, the series invites viewers to consider their own place in the cycle of destruction and renewal.