artistic approach:
Museum technician and self-taught painter ODILE RICHER perfected her approach at the Saidye Bronfman School in Montreal and at the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto. The artist uses portraiture to recreate the sensual refinement of the subjects that surround her: fabrics, jewelry, and antique objects. Photography serves as the starting point for the compositions that become her subjects. Her work expresses the beauty that emanates from a moment captured and immortalized in painting: the light — frozen yet ever-changing — that shines without shining and the radiance that draws in the observer and leads them to reverie. It is in this manner that she conveys, for example, the delicateness, sensuality, and softness of a scarf, rather than the scarf itself. This strong and versatile approach allows Odile Richer to create pieces that are at once classic and resolutely contemporary.
Painting is essentially a pretext for rendering the sparkle of a jewel, the texture of a lock of hair, the light’s reflection on the folds of a fabric, the transparency of a veil… It is also a sensory experience...
SIGHT: The way light bathes a subject in shimmering shades of amber; the dazzling effect of sharp contrasts; a subject that turns away and closes their eyes; the repletion of a pattern…
TOUCH: The feel of a felt hat; the luster and weight of a fabric; the frosty reflection of a pearl; the stiffness of a starched material; a thick, crocheted cotton; the weightlessness of a feather…
TASTE : The crispness of a green apple; the rich, unctuous look of satin; a bridal gown so delicious it looks like a wedding cake; the crackle of tulle…
SOUND : The rustling of a fabric; the tinkling of a delicate chain or sequins; the crinkling of a veil; a sigh of anticipation; the whispering of a secret…