Anik Gagnon
Anik Gagnon's art captures the simple moments of everyday life. She is inspired by everything around that touches her soul -- the joy and beauty of life itself, the beauty of nature and her surroundings and her pets. She is a passionate gardener who created all the flower borders surrounding her house. When she is not painting or gardening, she is deeply engrossed in gardening magazines.
Anik was born in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, of French-speaking parents and learned English at an early age by watching Sesame Street on television. Perhaps this is where she began her love of animals and characterizing them into the human situations that are the major subjects of her finished pieces.
Anik's mother says that she was born with crayons in her hand! She learned to paint with oils at age 12, and when she took some watercolor classes in the late 90s she discovered her medium. She has been largely influenced by Dutch watercolor painter Marjolein Bastin and papier-mâché sculptor Debbee Thibault, and is inspired by New England folk art subjects.
Her studio table is set up in the kitchen of her home in the Eastern Townships of Quebec that she shares with Eric, her companion of 11 years. The light is perfect and the table is covered with her watercolor equipment at all times, should the urge to paint strike. Painting is her full time career. Her finished art is framed and hanging on all available wall space of her home. She and Eric also have two dogs to complete the family.
Anik is represented by several Canadian galleries and most recently received an Honorable Mention from Coulerus Urbaines in Granby.