When I moved from Toronto to a tiny community in Nova Scotia, I became fascinated by the ocean, its reflections and endlessly shifting patterns of color and light. I will often sit on our beach examining the architecture of water, how it moves, how it is affected by light, its transparency, or how a wave starts to rise, curl and fall. I find the mystery of this dynamic and ancient entity utterly compelling. My depictions are purely of water, without land, sky or scale.
Ceffyl, acrylic on cradled panel, 27 x 96" (68 x 243 cm) This painting is an example of my typical color palette. The colors and hue of the setting sun are moving through the water and in the reflections on the surface of the sea. I take all of my own photographs, and in this case used three different reference photos for this painting to achieve the composition that I found to be most balanced. This is a quiet summer evening with the ocean waves moving toward the shore.
Euryal, acrylic on cradled panel, 36 x 36" (91 x 91 cm) This painting was selected for the groundbreaking exhibition Terroir: A Nova Scotia Survey at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Twenty-nine artists were selected from across the province, nine of whom were painters. It portrays a wilder ocean. The hues of blue are painted over a mostly red underpainting.
The paintings are inspired by multiple photographs I take at sunset when the waves are so luminous they could be lit from within.
Thelxiope, acrylic on cradled panel, 23 x 96" (58 x 243 cm) This painting was selected for the exhibition Capture: Nova Scotia Realism. The exhibition traveled the province for two years and was exhibited in provincial University art galleries. The show was curated by Tom Smart, director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the provincial gallery for New Brunswick and Peter Dykhuis former director of the Dalhousie University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Smart said about my painting in the exhibition, “The image is deep and metaphysical. It’s a glorious painting.”
I paint the ocean as the mind understands it—not a precise recording nor the rendering of an impressionist’s flourish, but something between the two. I build my images out of layers of acrylic paint and glazes to create light and depth, drama and atmosphere. Over time I have found that although impasto imparts texture, so too does hue and tone, and by eliminating rigid edges these paintings remain fluid—truer to water’s essence. It’s a time-consuming process of constant decision-making and problem-solving that can take weeks for one painting. Every painting goes through a difficult stage and sometimes I think, “I have no idea what I’m doing.” I just tell myself to keep working through it and hopefully it will come together in the end.
Janeos, acrylic on cradled panel, 48 x 48" (121 x 121 cm) This painting is a commission. Usually I like to see the space for a custom painting, but because the client lived far away the entire process with the collector was done over the phone and by email. I was present for the installation, and the collector was delighted with the finished painting. It is such a thrill to see how much someone loves my paintings enough to want to have one in their life. I love to portray the colors of the setting sun reflected on the surface of the sparkling water and in the transparency of the curling wave.
Idyia, acrylic on cradled panel, 24 x 84" (60 x 213 cm) This painting is a commission. Working with the client to achieve a finished painting that they love is a part of my practice that I really enjoy. The reference photos I used for this painting were taken on my beach in the evening as the sun was setting, creating the red wave and reflections. I employ many layers of paint and glaze and yet strive to avoid any texture on the surface of my paintings.
I strive to depict the ocean’s mysterious magnetism. Water embodies the concept of endlessness, of complexities repeated from one drop to the vast sea—so powerful yet so very fragile. —
About the Artist
Jaye Ouellette
Jaye Ouellette has been a professional autodidactic artist for almost 40 years. She has exhibited widely in galleries in Canada, the United States and France and has had six solo shows in Toronto. Since living in Nova Scotia, she has had five solo shows at public galleries. Her work was selected for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia’s groundbreaking exhibition Terroir: A Nova Scotia Survey in 2016 to 2017. Her work was also included in the touring show Capture: Nova Scotia Realism, curated by Tom Smart, director of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the provincial gallery for New Brunswick. In 2022 she was invited to be a Pouch Cove Foundation artist-in-residence in Newfoundland, followed by the exhibition Water at the James Baird Gallery, Pouch Cove. Ouellette has been awarded numerous grants, and her work is included in many private and corporate art collections. Her commissioned work is extensive, including the Mulroney Complex, St. Francis Xavier University, N.S., and, most notably, the Skydome Hotel, in Toronto. Her paintings have been selected for the cover of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra program, the Antigonish Review, an international literary magazine. Her work has also been featured in numerous art publications.
Ouellette was profiled in Peter Murphy’s documentary film Searching for Realism in 2015 and was an invited marquee artist to participate in CBC’s “Sharing the View” calendar project in 2014.
Represented by
Liss Gallery, Toronto, Canada, www.lissgallery.com
Contact at
info@jaye.ca
www.jaye.ca