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Creativity comes naturally for P.E.I. artist Paulette LeBlanc

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Paulette LeBlanc says her primary focus is creating something that makes her happy and pursuing her passion for being creative. LeBlanc says she has always been creative in all aspects of her life, from creating art and inventing games, to playing music to her own songs, and creating interesting lesson plans as she has also been teaching for 30 years.

“I don’t remember when I learned to create because it always came naturally to me,” says the Abram-Village, P.E.I. woman.

“I remember that as a child, I loved to make up games for my siblings and cousins and inventing adventure games for the outdoors. I remember always wanting to make the latest trend in crafts, whether it be bookmarks, bracelets, earrings, or anything else.”

Her creative side did not diminish as she got older, and she continued to evolve as a visual artist.

Today, LeBlanc is a painter, working primarily with acrylic paint and various mediums for mixed media, but she has also painted in oils and watercolour.

Her favourite part of doing a mixed media project is not knowing what the end result will be. As she progresses with her project, LeBlanc says she loves getting an idea she can incorporate into her piece, and it changes the whole initial idea she had in mind.

LeBlanc says she experiments with inks, acrylic mediums, pastels, collage materials, inktense pencils, gel pens, paint markers, and glass paints. She has lots of different materials and art supplies in her studio, so she won’t run out of ways to experiment.

For example, she has started to experiment with making her own embroidery designs with watercolour on material, which she says is a lot of fun.

These days, LeBlanc is working on mixed media watercolour art and is trying various art techniques like felting, embroidery and fabric art and plans to keep experimenting with these projects this fall.

“I am always thinking out

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of the box to make unique pieces,” she says.

Regarding what to paint, LeBlanc says she doesn’t have a particular subject that she usually paints as she is always changing subjects to paint what interests her at the time. But, overall, she likes to paint themes of nature, nautical, abstract and music.

LeBlanc says she has numerous

Paulette LeBlanc’s Girl Power is an example of her creative side. LeBlanc says she has always been creative, from creating art and inventing games, playing music to her own songs, and creating interesting lesson plans as she has also been teaching for 30 years. CONTRIBUTED

ideas for projects. That is not the issue, but rather the time to make them all as she also works full time. So, she takes lots of notes and has multiple sketchbooks and notebooks all around the house to keep a draft of her ideas. Her inspiration comes from everyday life, like nature, food, people, animals, flowers, music, videos, pictures, or trips.

When she finishes a project, she usually has an idea of what her next one will be, or she will go back to check her notes or sketches to remember what she drew or wrote for an idea. “There is no shortage of ideas, that’s for sure!” says LeBlanc. “I am looking forward to retirement to have more time to create.”

One of the most interesting stories LeBlanc has about her artwork is about the time she went to the gallery where she hangs her paintings. She had just put up a new painting she had finished called, Message in a Bottle.

A woman visiting from Virginia, U.S.A., was asking questions about it and was interested in buying it because it reminded her of her daughter and she had just gone through a tough time in her life, says LeBlanc.

She was intrigued by the mixed media techniques that LeBlanc had used and liked the small glass bottle nestled in the cloth that looked like waves on the canvas. Inside the tiny bottle was a message she did not reveal to her and kept it a mystery.

“I was excited that she bought the painting, and it is not often that, as an artist, we can meet and chat with the people who buy our art,” says LeBlanc.

For her, it was really nice to know that this person appreciated her work and that it was meaningful to her.

LeBlanc has done a few custom orders, but sometimes she finds this too restricting for her as an artist, depending on the project or request. Her client’s vision might not be the same as hers, so it can take away from the creativity because she has to work around a specific theme or subject.

If a customer wants a custom order, LeBlanc says she must be comfortable and confident that she could accomplish the task before taking it on. Her client would have to trust that she would be putting her creative twist on it, as well.

“I do like the challenge, though, and the customers I created art for liked the finished products,” she notes.

It is just the process of creating that LeBlanc loves.

“I feel that time stands still when I create in my art studio. Four hours can feel like 30 minutes when I am in the zone or creating mode. I can easily lose track of time and it is my favourite and most effective way to get rid of stress,” she says.

When not creating art, LeBlanc works full time as a social studies and health leader for Grades 7 to 12 for the Division of French Education, Programs and Services with the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning. She also has two grandchildren, so her creating time is mostly at night and on weekends.

To view or purchase LeBlanc’s work, it is on display in three locations, including at the Galerie La Palette, AbramVillage from July to September each year; the Maison de Bouteilles (Bottles Houses), Cap Egmont from May to October each year and at Follow Your Heart Woodworking, year-round in O’Leary.

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2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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