What an incredible start to the year! I’m in another exhibition that started on February 21st. I’m beyond blessed for this opportunity for growth and exposure.
A little about LeHang Art Gallery, they have three locations, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. LeHang first opened in Montreal in 2017, following the Vancouver location in 2020, and lastly, the Toronto location where my pieces are located in, which opened in 2021.
Back in 2016, I qualified for eastern nationals in swimming, where the meet was held in Montreal. At that time, it was also in February, and the last day of the meet was February 21st. Part of my trip was exploring Old Montreal, where there are many incredible art galleries and delicious restaurants.
I remember falling in love with these galleries and seeing so many different talents and styles of work. Little did I know I would be an artist at LeHang Art which at the time only had the Montreal location. I haven’t even started my art journey yet and didn’t think too much about it but enjoyed seeing art. At that time, my goal was to connect with other coaches to find a school to swim at, and I started my art journey at the beginning of my second year of university.
Now, the pieces in the first photo of this blog are all new works except for the one I’m holding that was also at my previous exhibition. The name of the painting is Everlasting Tide, which was created last year.
The small one on the top left is called SeaDreams, name comes from my desire to go swim in the sea. I’m going to make 2022 the year I make my dreams become reality, and me writing this will hold me accountable.
The bottom left painting is called Flourishing Wonder, one of my first ever paintings of a mountain, and course a lake had to be a part of it!
Next is a painting inspired by the Disney Movie Brother Bear… This one hangs in the top centre, maybe you can guess the name?..... It’s called Light Touches the Earth. If you haven’t watched brother bear you should go do that, and you’ll understand the meaning of this piece…
Saving one of my favourites for last, is the bottom middle one which is named Leuko. This year I announced that 5% of my orders will be donated to the HuntersHope foundation on my Instagram.
HuntersHope was established in 1997 by Pro Football Hall of Fame Member and former Buffalo Bills Quarterback Jim Kelly and his wife Jill after their son Hunter. This foundation will support the research, family care, advocate for newborn screenings for the disease, education/awareness for Leukodystrophies, and in hopes to bring awareness and change in the world for those affected by the disease.
The name of the painting comes from the word “Leukodystrophy” a rare disease my nephew battled, and his name was Levi. During this process of making this decision, I was making a piece in the colours of the Leukodystrophy ribbon. The painting is almost entirely blue, then added some gold in the sky to represent his bright memory and soul that remains around us. This painting holds a lot of value to me, and I hope it can bring some awareness to this rare disease around the world one painting at a time.
Again, I’d like to thank everyone in my life who have always supported me, family, friends, co-workers, teachers, literally EVERYONE. This journey is something I never thought I would ever ever ever experience or accomplish so many goals, overcome challenges and have so much passion for this hobby.
Cheers!
Jocelyn
