Two artists from Rockland are being featured this month at the Clarence-Rockland Art Gallery.
Brenda Levert is showcasing her nature-inspired watercolors and acrylics, while Carmen Legault is displaying her vibrant mixed-media creations.
“It takes roughly 50 to 100 hours for one piece of work,” said Levert, who no longer paints and has shifted to using colored pencils for her drawings. “I can work sometimes four or five hours a day, and I don’t mind it at all. I just love the feeling of pencil on paper. I will never go back to painting.”
Levert caught the bug for art early. Her father was an artist, and Levert, who is originally from Montreal and moved to Rockland to be closer to family, would often sit with him as he created.
“On the weekends, he used to go out into the woods and just paint,” recalled Levert. “I bugged him enough that he finally agreed to take me one day. I went to art school after high school, and here I am today creating art.”
The two artists were present at the art gallery, located on the main level of the Cultural and Recreational Complex (YMCA) at 1525 du Parc Avenue, on Sunday, Oct. 13, for a vernissage. Art enthusiasts not only had the chance to meet the two artists but also to ask them questions about their work.
Levert is also a member of Arteast Ottawa, a non-profit visual arts organization. The group is presenting Mosaic, the largest non-themed juried exhibition in the city, at the Trinity Art Gallery inside the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans, from Oct. 24, 2024, until Jan. 7, 2025. Levert will have some work featured in the Arteast exhibit.
“I have been doing this (creating art) for a very long time, and I love doing it,” she said. “I love to share my work for people to see. I am confident enough in my work, and I know where it comes from, that I can explain the inspiration behind it to someone.”
You can see some of Levert’s work on her Instagram page (@brenda_levert_fine_art).
The Vision reached out to Carmen Legault but was unable to connect with her at the time of publishing.
