SYLVIE PELTIER

WHAT WOULD HOCKNEY DO?

Artist Statement from Sylvie Peltier:

I am a female 65 year old French-Canadian cis-gender self-taught artist and I have been inspired by numerous painters. But my greatest muse is David Hockney (88 years old, British, gay, gold medal graduate of the Royal College of Art and celebrity artist). On the surface, we have very little in common. But I love how he always experiments and moves his art practice forward in often irreverent and whimsical ways.

I was a big fan of Hockney before I even knew that I was a fan of his. I had a poster of his painting “Mount Fuji and flowers,” and a postcard of his Pearblossom Hwy photo collage on my wall. I counted his pool series among my favourite paintings, not realizing that they were all from the same artist.

Hockney loves to mix styles and to question and reinterpret the tenets of art from perspective and portraiture, to still life and landscape painting. He also draws tremendous inspiration from other artists and especially the old Masters.

I find his approach to life and art tremendously inspiring. When I start a new painting, I often ask myself the question “What would Hockney do?”.

So, while I have been inspired by his work for years, I wanted with this exhibit to take a deep dive into his life and work to see where this would take me.

My wish is that by advancing my own artistic pursuit through this project, people will be invited to reflect upon the nature of inspiration and influence in art and that when they look at my work, they will be inspired too.

Sylvie’s Bio:

I was born in Ottawa but grew up in Quebec. At the age of 13, I saw a poster saying "Learn English in Vancouver" with a spellbinding picture of the ocean and the mountains. At that moment I decided that I would move to British Columbia one day.
On the way to BC, I pursued studies in Agricultural Economics (McGill) and Environmental Economics (Dalhousie). My thirst for an artistic practice led me to study Film and Television (UBC) and to establish Red Letter Films, a documentary television production company which I operated for nearly 30 years.    
But the call of making beautiful art and resolving the mysteries of design and composition stayed with me. So, I started to paint, learning from the artists in my community and beyond.
I've lived in BC since the late eighties, and it's been close to 10 years since I picked up a paint brush with the determination to grow and learn and to create a thriving artistic practice.
I'm fascinated by imperfection, and I find exploring and mixing styles stimulating. I strive to evoke and to create joy and beauty rather than copy what is in front of me. I want people who view my work to be inspired and intrigued.