Artistic Approach — Isabelle Bouchard IB, Contemporary Painter Quebec · Charlevoix · Petite-Rivière-Saint-François
Isabelle Bouchard IB has developed a sensitive pictorial practice in which landscape becomes a space for memory, transformation, and resonance. Through an intuitive and layered approach, she seeks to reveal what connects us to the living world.
Painting in Balance
Contemporary visual artist Isabelle Bouchard explores the balance between figuration and abstraction. Built through successive layers, her paintings express an inner vision of the living world.
Inspired by nature, the seasons, memory, and meaningful places in Quebec—particularly Petite-Rivière-Saint-François in Charlevoix, as well as Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and the Quebec City region—she creates sensitive landscapes infused with emotion.
Change, light, and the gradual transformation of all things lie at the heart of her practice. Rather than pursuing descriptive realism, she seeks to express the essence of living beings, simplifying forms to strengthen the composition’s emotional resonance.
Themes Throughout My Practice
Isabelle Bouchard’s landscapes often feature symbolic elements—tree trunks, open horizons, moving water, and stylized vegetation—that create a dialogue between the inner self and the world.
She explores universal themes such as our connection to nature, transformation, time, and memory with a profoundly human sensitivity. Each artwork becomes a place of passage, a suspended moment, and an invitation to feel rather than describe.
Her work draws inspiration from the places that have left their mark on her, from Charlevoix to Quebec City and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Petite-Rivière-Saint-François occupies a central place within this living memory.
A Thoughtful Technique Between Spontaneity and Precision
Her paintings evolve slowly. She builds successive layers, combines textures, and works with contrasts. At times precise and at others diffuse, her gestures are guided by emotion and composition. She carefully chooses what to reveal and what to soften, creating visual rhythm and inner resonance.
Her process combines technical mastery with expressive freedom, allowing each painting to emerge through a subtle balance between control and letting go.
Discover her Artist Biography to learn more about her journey.
Recognition, Awards, and Art Publications
Introduction
Isabelle Bouchard IB’s work has received recognition in Quebec and internationally. She has earned several distinctions for the expressive quality of her pictorial practice and has been featured in prominent art publications. Her career reflects an ongoing commitment to exploring art and the living world.
Awards and Distinctions
✦ 2026 — Curator’s Choice for L’érablière se réveille (The Maple Grove Awakens) and Finalist
Multicolor — Accent Gallery✦ 2026 — Finalist
76th Artavita Online Art Contest — Artist of the Year✦ 2025 — International Prize: The Great Masters in New York
Effetto Arte Foundation — Episcopal Church of the Ascension, New York, April 4✦ 2025 — Masterful Mind Award: Artist of the Year
Circle Foundation for the Arts — 6th CFA Artist of the Year International Competition✦ 2025 — Finalist
69th Artavita Online Art Contest — Artist of the Year✦ 2024 — Masterful Mind Award: Artist of the Year
Circle Foundation for the Arts — 5th CFA Artist of the Year International Competition✦ 2024 — Finalist
62nd Artavita Online Art Contest — Artist of the Year✦ 2023 — International Prize Michelangelo: The Genius of Italy
Effetto Arte Foundation — Teatro Italia, Rome, July 22✦ 2023 — Finalist, selected among 40 artists
ArtIDEAL Magazine Cover Competition — June✦ 2023 — International Prize Leonardo Da Vinci: The Universal Artist
Effetto Arte Foundation — March✦ 2023 — Finalist
57th Artavita Online Art Contest — May✦ 2023 — Winner: Artavita Artist of the Year 2022
56th Artavita Online Art Contest — Virtual exhibition, January 17, 2023–January 17, 2024✦ 2023 — Artistic Excellence Award
Circle Foundation for the Arts — 4th CFA Artist of the Year Competition, February✦ 2022 — Winner
51st Artavita Online Art Contest — Publication in World Wide Art Magazine, 9th edition✦ 2022 — Finalist
50th Artavita Online Art Contest✦ 2021 — Certificate of Artistic Excellence
Circle Foundation for the Arts — 6th Circle Quarterly Art Review Magazine Contest✦ 2020 — Finalist
42nd Artavita Online Art Contest
Art Publications
✦ Master Artists to Collect, Volume 2
Effetto Arte Foundation — April 2025
Artwork: En route vers l’écluse (On the Way to the Lock), p. 46✦ International Prize: The Great Masters in New York
Effetto Arte Foundation — March 2025
Artwork: En route vers l’écluse (On the Way to the Lock), p. 41✦ Masterful Minds: Artists to Watch in 2025, Volume 6
CFA Press — March 2025, 136 pages
Artworks: En route vers l’écluse (On the Way to the Lock), p. 15, and the diptych En attendant le soleil (Waiting for the Sun), p. 16✦ Masterful Minds: Artists to Watch in 2024, Volume 1
CFA Press — March 8, 2024, 138 pages
Artwork: Recommencement (A New Beginning), p. 19✦ Contemporary Celebrity Masters, Volume 4
Effetto Arte Foundation — July 2023, 393 pages
Artworks: Éléments en mouvement I, II, III & IV (Elements in Motion I, II, III & IV), p. 45✦ International Prize Michelangelo: The Genius of Italy
Effetto Arte Foundation — July 2023, 237 pages
Artworks: Éléments en mouvement I, II, III & IV (Elements in Motion I, II, III & IV), p. 39✦ Contemporary Celebrity Masters, Volume 2
Effetto Arte Foundation — March 2023, 463 pages
Artwork: Mon corps m’appartient (My Body Belongs to Me), p. 156✦ International Prize Leonardo Da Vinci: The Universal Artist, 5th Edition
Effetto Arte Foundation — March 2023, 358 pages
Artwork: Mon corps m’appartient (My Body Belongs to Me), p. 51✦ World Wide Art Magazine, 11th Edition
January 30, 2023
Artwork: Enzo, l’ange gardien (Enzo, the Guardian Angel), p. 5✦ Les Temps présents, collective book
Les Éditions Petite-Rivière-Saint-François — July 2022
Artwork: Mon corps m’appartient (My Body Belongs to Me), accompanied by a text by Sylvie Lussier, p. 9✦ World Wide Art Magazine, 9th Edition
May 2022
Artwork: Enzo, l’ange gardien (Enzo, the Guardian Angel), p. 8✦ Spotlight Contemporary Art Magazine, 28th Edition
May 2022
Artwork: Find Your Light, p. 38✦ Émergence Magazine Québec
December 2020
Article: “Isabelle Bouchard, peinture,” pp. 22–27
Jury Selections and Professional Involvement
Jury Experience
Expo du Plateau des Arts — Jury member, 2021–2024
Visit’Arts Québec — Jury member
2024: Prix Jeune Relève CGI
2019: Youth competition, ages 13–17
Présent’art — Jury member, 2021
Professional and Community Involvement
Les Pinceaux d’Or
Artist-facilitator since 2022
Adapted acrylic painting workshops
Coordinator of instructor-led training for self-directed groups
Expo du Plateau des Arts de Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Charlevoix
Founding member, 2021
Responsible for graphic design, social media, and website management, 2021–2025
Organizing committee member, 2021–2022
Assisted committee members with event coordination
Participated in five editions, 2021–2025
Société artistique et culturelle de Québec (SACQ)
Vice-President for three years, 2017–2020
Directed, coordinated, and secured funding for the Touches d’Art exhibition at Palais Montcalm in 2018, featuring 50 artists
Touches d’art
Creative Director and co-creator of the collective artist’s book exhibited during the 2018 event
Visit’Arts Québec
Organizing committee member, 2017–2023
Art Associations
Circle Foundation for the Arts — Featured Artist since 2025
Société artistique et culturelle de Québec (SACQ) — Member since 2015
Centre de production en art actuel Les Ateliers (CPAAA) — Professional Member since 2024
Art X Terra — Member since 2021
Regroupement des artistes et artisans de Petite-Rivière-Saint-François
