When I first started painting on a blank canvas, my intention was to paint trees in close-up. The maple trees were inspired by a photograph I'd taken on a sunny autumn day at the Parc Nature de l'Île-aux-Tourtes in Vaudreuil-Dorion. My concept was to represent the beauty and importance of trees in this public space. So I started by painting the blue sky, then the trees in the background, then the trunks of these maples. And finally the leaves. Fifty-nine. I counted them all. One after the other. Fifty-nine leaves in the foreground.

When viewed from a distance, at first glance, these leaves seem almost identical, all united in a way that dresses the trees in an autumnal color. However, it wasn't until I started painting them one at a time that I noticed how unique they all were. In this scene, some leaves are more discreet than others, the breeze of the moment having decided which leaves would be highlighted. The sun, for its part, has chosen to illuminate some of them, for the moment with a gentle ray diffusing through the light foliage. Each one shines in its own way, and it is in fact the uniqueness of each leaf that embellishes the tree. Even leaves that are starting to wilt, have holes in them or are beginning to fade, are totally perfect in their imperfection. Each one plays a different, but equally important, graphic role in illustrating the ultimate beauty of these maples. 

I'm fond of comparing trees to humans, because I feel that both have characteristics in common. All these leaves give me the impression of a mini-society living together in a community called "Maple". If you look at a crowd from a distance, at first glance you'd notice a gathering of people. But as you get closer, people become individuals in their own right, each with their own individuality and differences. The uniqueness of each person then becomes the richness of this crowd, just as the diversity of these leaves is at the heart of the beauty of these maples.

In creating all these leaves, I hope to have fulfilled my initial mission of expressing the beauty of trees. I sincerely believe that the atmosphere of the magnificent Parc Nature de l'Île-aux-Tourtes would not be the same without these splendid leafy trees!