Artists and Teachers
Carole Majeau
Biography
A native of St-Gabriel-de-Brandon in Lanaudière, it was in this beautiful region that I discovered decorative art. After completing countless projects and participating in training activities in several shop, I decided to teach decorative painting at my home.
After moving to Quebec City for work, I continued to perfect my skills by attending seminars with renowned artists. In 2010, I decided to acquire the store La Boîte à Pin-So to combine my entrepreneurial experience with my passion for art.
Today, I’m fortunate to be able to make a living from my passion for decorative and visual art through my work and management of Pin-So, Les Éditions CDP and Powertex Canada.
It’s a pleasure to share my passion with others and discuss future projects.
Specialties
A true jack-of-all-trades!
Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed media, Painting on fabric, silk, glass, porcelain, Powertex and others.
Favourite subjects: Animals, Landscapes, Cities, Flowers.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Carole sometimes offers her pattern-edited projects in seminar. She also offers Powertex certification and painting on silk seminars.
Josée Cloutier
Biography
For over ten years now, I’ve devoted myself exclusively to painting, creating projects on canvas, fabric, porcelain or wood, all published in pattern, and I teach 6 to 8 classes a week at Pin-So in Quebec City.
As a young adult, I studied fashion design and worked in clothing design for some twenty years.
From the age of 8, I learned to paint with oils and palette knives. I’ve always been drawn to drawing and painting. Today, my style is very varied, but remains tinged with a feminine influence and fashion characters.
I use a wide variety of media, from acrylics and oils to mixed media and Imitation Stained Glass.
Specialties
A true jack-of-all-trades!
Acrylics, Oils, Watercolors, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed Media, Painting on fabric, glass, porcelain, Powertex and more.
Favourite subjects: Characters, Landscapes, Cities.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Tuesday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Wednesday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Thursday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Saturday every 2 weeks*:
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Josée sometimes offers her projects published as patterns in seminar. She also offers short, very accessible mixed media workshops, such as her very popular Dessin de mode, as well as a few creative courses, such as those on gel plate printing.
Brigitte Malenfant
Biography
A native of Quebec City, the artist in me has been present for a long time, even as a young girl drawing on my school desk and notebooks. My studies led me towards a degree in accounting, but my artistic side was always present.
In 1997, I enrolled in a decorative painting course and discovered my passion. Since then, I’ve taken several courses and seminars, which have enabled me to discover and improve several painting techniques.
I’m an artist who likes to think outside the box, fusing realistic and abstract art in my creations. I enjoy working with animal and floral themes. I also like to pass on my passion for the arts to all age groups. The techniques I use require no specific training, just an interest in expressing oneself.
Specialties
Acrylics, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed media, Painting on fabric, glass, porcelain, Powertex and more.
Favorite subject: Animals.
Art Classes and Seminars
Creative art class for children
Saturday every 2 weeks :
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Brigitte sometimes offers her projects published as patterns in seminar.
Arielle Cloutier
Biography
First and foremost a multidisciplinary creator with a master’s degree in Literature, Performing and Screen Arts from Université Laval, and co-founder of the Collectif Dans Ta Tête, I’m particularly interested in interactive and immersive spaces where the viewer generates reflection through their relationship with the artwork. Perpetually avid of all forms of art, I’ve never stopped being curious, trying to understand how a creation comes to life, how artists bend the established rules and how they manage to touch the audience deeply. As a child, I devoured every book, film and “making of” I could find, but it wasn’t enough! I’d even spend whole days in the hot sun, running around on my friends’ lawns, recreating my favorite stories in the style of a play.
Today, I always end up combining several art forms, such as integrating 2D animation into a show, doing live digital painting and telling stories in my paintings. Art transcends all forms, being primarly the communication of our inner selves.
Since 2016, I’ve been dedicated to sharing my love for traditional visual art at Pin-So, whether through teaching or creating artwork and merchandise. I make it my personal mission to equip my fellow enthusiasts to create, and to help them master the basics enabling them to freely express the extent of their imagination.
Specialties
Acrylics, Watercolors, inks, Mixed Media, Pastels, Drawing, Fabric painting and more.
Favourite subjects: Portraits, Characters.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Recurrent seminars
Arielle offers several technical and creative seminars (Volume du visage, Initiation à la perspective, Communiquer par les couleurs, Créer, c’est s’amuser, etc.) that recur from season to season. She also offers seminars on other subjects from time to time, depending on inspiration and student demand.
Céline Émond
Biography
Coming soon.
Specialties
Drawing, Oil painting, Ink, Graphite, Mixed media, Colored pencils.
Favorite subjects: People, Portraits, Animals, Flowers.
Art Classes and Seminars
Recurrent seminars
Céline offers several 10-course sessions almost every season, such as her popular and proven drawing classes and her oil painting course. She also gives 3 workshops to stimulate your creativity with accessible and fun techniques (Affiche tes couleurs and the Lignes en folie workshop series).
Hélène Bisson
Biography
Originally from Bellechasse (Lac-Etchemin), I’ve been living in La Baie in the Saguenay since 2000. As a teenager, I already had a keen interest in freehand drawing, and I was lucky enough to have parents who let me exploit my talents by letting me draw on the walls of my bedroom and basement. Those were my first attempts.
After two years studying applied art, life led me to work in interior design for 3 years. From then on, I left the art world for a few years to take on other professional challenges.
During my daughter’s pregnancy, being a very active person, I decided to take a decorative painting course to pass the time. I made my first attempts at painting an old desk to mark the birth of my daughter. The positive reaction and comments of those around me convinced me to start painting again. From then on, I started painting (self-taught) on different objects, such as stools, wooden boxes, milk cans, wooden trays and so on. I’ve also explored different techniques for faux finishes, frescoes and decorations, all in a very versatile style. One thing led to another, by word of mouth, and my creations have come a long way. After meeting someone, I was invited to take a workshop on painting on canvas, a revelation for me!
Since then, I’ve been painting on canvas and refining my art full-time. I paint my subjects with a touch of spontaneity and from there my inspiration. I work with a vibrant color palette that reflects my joie de vivre and allows me to share my dynamism. I consider myself truly privileged to be able to pursue this childhood dream.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subjects: Flowers and animals.
Art Classes and Seminars
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Hélène sometimes offers unedited projects in pattern exclusively in seminar format and painted with acrylics.
Jacinthe Tremblay
Biography
For as long as I can remember, a passion for art and decoration has been part of my life. By the age of 10, I was drawing everything in sight! I took many drawing and painting courses, but it was in 2002 that I discovered the world of Norwegian painting and fell in love!
To warm up their daily lives, Norwegians took pleasure in dressing up everyday objects with a few brushstrokes. The kysta tradition was a revelation! What a gift this hand-painted chest was for his daughter’s trousseau. A passion for furniture was born!
So I learned Rosemaling and Telemark skiing from Mrs Rabi, who was 76 at the time… A wonderful woman who spent her life sharing this art. Fascinated by the traditional art of JoSonja and to develop my brushstrokes, I also enrolled in David Jansen’s Tradition program.
At the dawn of my fifties, my taste for decoration led me to make a career change from nurse to interior designer. A few years ago, I discovered chalk paint and fell in love with its finish!
Now retired, I share my passion for furniture by using chalk paint to bring these sometimes forgotten objects back to life…
Specialties
Chalk painting, Furniture restoration, Linocut, Water-based mixed media.
Favorite subjects: Flowers, animals, still lifes.
Art Classes and Seminars
Recurrent seminars
Jacinthe offers several times a season her furniture restoration classes (Chalk Painting 101, How to embellish your furniture), her linocut classes (Introduction, Creating repetitive geometric patterns, Creating the shell motif, Linocut on grocery and wine bags) and soon her Abstract Flowers classes.
Brenda Levert
Biography
Like many artists, I’ve been painting and drawing since I was a child. My father was an artist and that gave me the opportunity to spend many hours with him in his studio. He taught me drawing techniques and introduced me to several mediums: pencil, watercolor, oil and acrylic. I explored them all.
I went to art school at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, Quebec, where I lived during this period of my life. I studied painting and drawing. I then spent several years painting and selling my work. I then moved on to teaching the art of painting and drawing in my home studio.
One day, a friend of mine introduced me to decorative art. I loved it! After taking a few courses with colleagues and at conventions, I started designing my own projects and patterns. Today, I’ve been teaching and painting for over 20 years. My specialties are birds and flowers.
I hope you enjoy painting my projects as much as I enjoy creating them.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subjects: Flowers and birds.
Carole Caron
Biography
I’ve been painting since 1992, and this hobby is now a passion.
After several course sessions and a few weekends in the studio, I’m now a self-taught apprentice. After a few experiments on ceramic and wood pieces, I finally realized that my favorite surface is canvas. Since then, I’ve developed my own technique, which is somewhat similar to traditional painting.
My work is described as dynamic and energetic! I use a palette of bright, shimmering colors. The naïveté and candor of my works demonstrate greatness of spirit and generosity. I draw my inspiration from life itself…
The colors and liveliness of the scenes with the children remind us of those wonderful moments of our childhood, according to our moods and states of mind at the time. The deliberate omission of facial features makes it easier for everyone to imagine this little world.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subject: Characters.
Cathie Migout
Biography
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always had paintbrushes and crayons in my hands.
I have taken acrylic painting courses for several years with different teachers, and all the techniques I have learned have enabled me to perfect my skills and create my own style.
Today, I’m a decorative painting teacher in France, where I teach my passion with joy and good humor, and my thirst for creativity has led me to become a decorative painting pattern designer.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favorite subjects: Animals, still lifes, amusing characters.
