Through experimentation with paint and collage, Canadian-born abstract artist France Tetreault strives to portray the feelings we encounter when we connect with a piece of music.
Mostly self taught, she takes inspiration from many genres of music, as well as from her own personal experiences in the music business. Sheet music, titles and lyrics play an important role in both the inspiration and creation of her paintings, often taking the spotlight.
From a young age, the music business was France’s dream and, against all the odds, it became her life for over 20 years. Becoming Canada’s first female assistant recording engineer was only a stepping stone towards a colourful career spent in recording studios, record companies, music publishing, artist management, and concert promotion in Canada, England, France, and Italy.
An intensive workshop with renowned French artist Lionel, in 1997, ignited a new-found desire to paint abstract. She began to create works inspired by natural and architectural textures, which she entitled “Abstract Reality” and even hosted her first solo show in Bologna. Eventually, she found that her own story was missing from these works and so decided to include music.
Based in Kent since 2004, her work now involves many layers which reflects on the manner that even one piece of music can reach us on many levels. A keen environmentalist, she prefers to use unusual un-recyclable objects to paint with, or to use as guides and templates, such as the thin plastic from greeting cards, netting from laundry bins and expired credit cards.
She is currently developing a related direction she terms “Abstract Maximalism” which celebrates not only how complicated and interesting we are, as multi-faceted humans with such individual personalities and tastes, but especially how music connects with the depths of our emotions.
France is a member of many local creative groups including being a long standing committee member of the Hythe Art Society and is a co-founder of a new art collective called “Axiom”. Her work is present online through:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/france.the.artist
Instagram: @francetheartist
What People Say
“It doesn’t matter how many times I look at France’s work, I always see something new.”
Mrs. Lesley Moss
“An original rock chick artist who is forever developing and learning, and from whom we have no doubt will he hearing and seeing a lot more of.
Andrew South, journalist
“France specialises in extraordinary and vibrant interpretations of classic rock music.”
The Looker Magazine April 2021
France-the-Artist 