Umbrellas

I thought I’d finished this painting more than twenty years ago, right after I graduated from Cégep. It was a request from my mother. She’s always loved the concept of multicolored umbrellas against a black-and-white background. So I dove right in. And there were two factors at play in this project. First, in my case, when an idea comes from someone else’s mind, I have a much harder time doing it justice in the final piece. Second, we take our little bit of talent for granted when we’re fresh out of Cégep. We’re convinced that every stroke of our brush is worth its weight in gold. So, once the painting was finished, I was satisfied… apparently my mom was too, but hey, she’s my mom! So much for objectivity! On that note, about twenty years go by, and one day—after a long journey of doubts, self-improvement… and a fair amount of procrastination—my eyes land on the canvas. That damn thing is taunting me! The figures I thought were naive are simply childish. The buildings are riddled with perspective errors, and the light and shadow effects lack character… Sometimes you look at an old piece and tell yourself it needs to go. In this case, the painting was lucky enough to taunt me during a wonderful period of my life, so I decided to breathe new life into it. I changed everything! The textures, the structures, the reflections, the realism of the figures—and finally, the multicolored umbrellas—all became red. And, yes, it’s always romantic and pleasant to include the woman you love in a painting (that charming girl in the yellow jacket walking her dog), but beyond that slightly saccharine idea, her presence makes this street feel almost real. I love the idea that each of these characters might have a life of their own, separate from the painting. Because if my girlfriend in the painting is real, then why not the others? For example, take those two men in the center. I bet they’re two brothers running a thriving startup, who’ve probably just signed a major contract! When you look away from the painting, they’ll all go on with their lives! And if we ever meet, you can always ask me about the two figures in the bottom right—namely, why don’t they have umbrellas?