Bea Roche



About the Artist:

My family immigrated to Canada in 1965 from France when I was a child. When we came to this new country, I instantly loved the green canopy of trees on my street. When we travelled on holidays, I was intrigued by the different rock formations in different regions. The many lakes and trees. The colours and textures had me mesmerized ! This wonderment has never gone away.

I grew up watching my older brother paint and I was itching to try it. He would let me use his oils occasionally but not too often. In school I took up art and that became my favourite class.

Once school was behind me and I went to work, I occasionally painted but when I retired all I wanted to do is get back to painting.I enrolled in classes , read a lot of art books, visited galleries and practiced. Of course, that’s still ongoing!

Eventually, I started painting outdoors and I loved it! I meet with other artists and we go out weekly to paint. I paint mostly with oils, sometimes acrylics and I do my sketch studies in gouache.

Painting Plein Air is a challenge because I am dealing with weather, changing light, moving shadows and bugs.

It makes me aware of our precious planet and the beauty all around us. Now, more than ever, I want to paint nature because I worry about climate change, our disappearing farmland and animal habitats. My Paintings are my journal of all the places that moved me to paint. Sometimes it's a huge vista, or a tree, reflecting light on water, a bale of hay, a building - or it could be a meandering path. There is inspiration all around!

I am currently exhibiting at Quinn's of Tweed Fine Art Gallery in Tweed Ontario.