Rita Letendre
Before the night, 1984

To write about myself or my career seems most difficult and strange. I am a painter, not a writer, but I will try to put on these pages some of my thoughts and beliefs.

I studied in Montreal at L’École des Beaux Arts. I was not there for a very long time as I felt that by working hard by myself I would have fewer distractions and I could learn faster.

It was possible for me to have the discipline necessary for hard and consistent work, because art and especially painting, had become an absolute and irresistible necessity.

It was during this time that I met Paul Emile Borduas and the group of the Automatists, and discovered a new freedom of expression. For me the history of art was made of paintings that I admired. Among the modern paintings I loved the work of Matisse, Mondrian, Paul Klee, Picasso and so very many more.

I felt that Borduas and the group around him were entering an unexplored world in painting and it fascinated me. I felt there was a sense of freedom and a world to explore in those paintings. However, I still continued to go on with the figurative works I was doing at the time. Those paintings were harsh - nearly violent, not in their subject matter but in the rendition and the colours.

So it went, until I felt ready to explore further. In fact, throughout my work there has always been a slow progression. I compare the evolution in my work to walking slowly, one step at a time, trying to reach a horizon that will always be at the end of an endless road.

Another influence that has been and is still important to me is some of Zen thought. The following illustration of total concentration is very illuminating for me: « To be a master the archer has to be one with the bow, the arrow and its aim ». There is another belief that has provoked me to think and thus understand so much. It has been very important for my painting. To be good a line has to have the ease and simplicity of movement of a ripe apple falling from the tree. This applies not only to line but also to movement in a painting, flow of movement by a great dancer, music and sculpture.

I should also mention that I have been and still am a very lucky person, having had the opportunity to fulfil one of my childhood dreams. I dreamt of becoming a pianist, a painter, a ballet dancer or even a surgeon. How wonderful to have been able to realize one of my dreams. Music remains very important for me; I always paint with music in my studio. I also love ballet. However, I must say, I still do not understand why surgery attracted me. Perhaps it was a desire to have a sense of being able to achieve some clear solution to problems.

Painting to me has always been a celebration of life in all its phases, which can be, at times, turbulent, peaceful, meditative, joyous or full of torment. At times there is an inner fight for survival, driven by anguish, fear or doubt. Sometimes it is followed by a sense of ecstasy or a sensuous joy of living.

Perhaps this feeling made me choose to paint non-figuratively. I realised early on that the essence of a painting, the sense of magic I had looking at some paintings, could not be in its subjects. It had to be an expression of an inner world that came through. It is so evident if you only think of a painting of a bowl of apples by Cezanne or the Annunciation by Da Vinci. However, I still could see some people being limited by subject matter that they either liked or disliked. I wanted to take these hurdles out of my paintings so the people looking at them would not be hindered by subject matter. Rather they would be able to immediately concentrate and search within themselves to grasp the meaning they found in the paintings.

To be a painter, I believe there must be an irresistible burning need to express oneself in this medium. Creativity can be expressed in so many ways, not only by art. Creativity is in all of us. We are born with it. It is only a matter of being aware of it. Creativity can be expressed by an entrepreneur in the business world, by a great chef in the creation of new dishes, by a mathematician, chemist, engineer, farmer, gardener and parents through their skill in parenting.

Creativity can be in everything. It is not only the domain of the painter, sculptor, musician and composer. To me, painting is the medium with which I feel I can best express the creativity that is in me.

I believe that an artist, writer, composer, musician, painter or sculptor shows his/her search of their inner world and this endless questioning of life’s mysteries.

I also believe that it is in accepting this endless search, knowing that each answer will only bring new questions, that we can grow. It is the only way to realise the maximum of the potential that we are all born with. It is evident that it is very difficult and, at times, a painful challenge. It obliges one to examine and reexamine one’s values and beliefs, searching to know one’s inner, unique self.

Light and colour have always been key elements in my paintings. In fact, it is colour or the lack of colour. To me, light means life’s force. It is because it is our first shock, our first encounter at birth and the last at death ? In any case it is the way I imagine it. It is not scientific. I can only say that it is my feeling: a mere poetic view I have of life.

Light and colour, which were sparkling like flames or arrows in my earky works, became more orderly in the late 50’s and early 60’s. The elements became more disciplined. In these works there were usually some black grids or columns with light/colour piercing the space, fighting the limitation of these enclosing forces. By the 70’s the arrows became the key shape in my paintings. The light and colour, instead of fighting for freedom, were searching to reach an infinite space.

Another element that has remained in the background of all my works from the very beginning is a sense of cosmic energy. As a human I feel a part of this energy that created the stars, the wind, the tides, nature’s growth and all the animal species of which we are part. Since the 80’s and the very beginning of the 90’s, light and colour have taken the most important place in my painting. I think the light has been more brilliant then ever. At times light is completely enveloping; at other moments it creates a void that is burning into an infinite space.

Only time will tell what will come later in my work. Naturally, I don’t know. Step by step I follow a road into myself which is interpreted or expressed by my paintings and my thoughts. The inner self of each person is always the same, yet at the same time we bring to it the result of all our life experiences.

Rita Letendre, RCA.