Martin Blanchet - Original Paintings
Born in 1972 in the village of St-Émile-de-Suffolk, a municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. As a young man, Martin briefly studied at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Martin was later introduced to the highly regarded Dutch painter Louis Boekhout, who studied at l'Académie des Beaux-Arts d'Anvers, France. Mr. Boekhout mentored Martin Blanchet for five years, instilling many lessons and a strong work ethic. Martin later apprenticed with Montréal, QC artist Louis Robichaud.
In his early years, having chosen wildlife art as a platform of expression, he participated for five years in approximately 30 exhibitions and contests in France, including The Fall Salon, at the Grand Palais in Paris. Among awards received, Martin is most proud of a mention of honour in the figurative category at the Salon International des Seigneurs de l'Art in Aix-en-Provence, France, for its jury included some students of Cézanne.
"My biggest quest is to capture the unseen: ultimately allowing the spectator to experience and sense the air, the light, the smells, and the sounds of a stream gurgling in the spring, the cry of the cicada or the background noise made by tires on a rainy day downtown."
Over the years, Canadian magazines such as Parcours and Magazin'Art have published feature articles at different times. Most recently, in 2012, International Artist Magazine devoted an article titled Like being there: Capturing the unseen.
West End Gallery respectfully acknowledges the Lekwungen peoples, specifically the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, on whose traditional lands our Victoria gallery stands. We also acknowledge that our Edmonton gallery is situated on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Metis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway/Saulteaux/Anishinaabe, and Inuit.