André Vaillant is a landscape artist based in Victoria, British Columbia. His paintings are inspired by the remote and rugged vistas that are found on Vancouver Island’s many hiking trails and backcountry wilderness areas.
Artist Statement
I grew up on the Rideau Lakes in Ontario just outside Murphy’s Point Provincial Park and most of my days were spent either exploring the seemingly endless tracks of forest or at home drawing. Being in nature wasn’t just something I did; it was part of me, and I was part of it. Looking back, it seems like an inevitability that as an adult I would end up somewhere like Vancouver Island. It’s a place where there’s so much wilderness that I could explore for a lifetime and still feel like I never saw enough. Backpacking and hiking costal trails or high up in the mountainous spine of the Island, wandering old logging roads, and catching salmon out of the rivers; it’s had an immense impact on me and how I create my art. When you’re surrounded by such expansive beauty, is it possible for it not to?
Like so many great artists before me, I want my paintings to bring a voice to the vast landscapes we call home. I approach my works with both a desire to capture and share a truthful representation of the places I visit, with an emotional narrative of my experience of being there. Often considered a modern impressionist; I use a combination of precisely mixed, pure colours and complex layering working in tandem to create the subtle changes that trick the eye into perceiving smooth transitions or implying complex details.
Any photo can show what a place looks like, but through my art I want to convey how it feels to be in a particular place; the brilliance of the sun shining through a break in a rainstorm, the humbling scale of the mountain peaks as you traverse an alpine ridge, or the heavy air of the golden-hour at the end of a summer day. It’s a profoundly human experience this reverence of the natural world, something fleeting and precious. It’s almost existential in its intensity. I focus my work around atmospheric lighting, scale, and colour as I strive to convey this almost ineffable emotional quality found somewhere between revelry, solitude, and serenity.
Artist Bio
André Vaillant is an award winning, Canadian landscape painter currently based in Victoria, BC. As an avid hiker and backpacker, he spends much of his free time in exploring the vast and varied beauty of Vancouver Island, which continues to have an immense impact on his work. Often described as a modern impressionist, his paintings are crafted exclusively through layers of precisely mixed, pure colours which work in tandem to create a wide range of atmospheric effects and lighting. He seeks to capture the Canadian landscape through truthful representation and blends it with an emotional narrative of his experience, often exhibiting themes of isolation, solitude, and how the humbling scale and grandeur of these vistas reminds us of our very small place in the world.
Curriculum Vitae
b. Ottawa, ON - 1987
Currently lives and works in Victoria, BC and is an Active Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists since January 2024.
EDUCATION
2006-2009 Graphic Design - Algonquin College, Ottawa ON
2005-2006 Pre-Design - Algonquin College, Ottawa ON
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Gallery 5 - Spring/Summer Show - B.C. Ministry of Health, Victoria BC
2024 Victoria Chapter - Federation of Canadian Artist: Fall Show - Fortune Gallery, Victoria BC (juried)
2024 Sooke Fine Arts Show - Sooke, BC (juried)
2024 Victoria Chapter - Federation of Canadian Artist: Summer Show - Fortune Gallery, Victoria BC (juried - Honourable Mention)
2024 Federation of Canadian Artists: Landscapes Exhibition - Granville Island (juried)
2024 John B. Aird Gallery: Drawing 2024 - Toronto (juried)
2024 Art Gallery Ring: Artist of the Month: May- (juried - Emerald Award of Excellence)
2024 Art Gallery Ring: Alive 2024 - (juried - Golden Trio Award of Excellence)
2024 Federation of Canadian Artists: Annual International Representational Exhibition - Granville Island (juried)
2023 Sooke Fine Arts Show - Sooke, BC (juried)
2022 ArtSpacific Exhibition - Langley, BC (juried - First Place Recipient)
2022 Sooke Fine Arts Show - Sooke, BC (juried)
COLLECTIONS
Private collections in Canada and the United States
AWARDS
2024 Modern Impressionist Salon June/July - Honourable Mention
2024 Victoria FCA Summer Show: Honourable Mention
2024 Art Gallery Ring Artist of the Month: Emerald Award
2024 Art Gallery Ring: Golden Trio Award of Excellence
2022 ArtSpacific Exhibition: Best in Show/First Place
PUBLICATIONS
2024 ARTIT: Bringing Landscapes to Life
2024 Modern Impressionist Magazine - June/July
André is an Exhibiting Member of the Federation of Canadian Artists
