Who is Manon Beausoleil, landscape artist? Besides the fact that she was born in Saint-Charles-de-Mandeville and still lives there, the other details tell us who she is not! For example, Manon Beausoleil admits that she does not frequent the artistic milieu. She lives alone, in the country, 'in her own little corner', as she puts it. She does not claim to be inspired by the great masters because she is self-taught. She is not well known, for now, at least...
   As a child, Manon loved drawing. Her family encouraged her, although there were no artistic relatives among them. Manon did study graphic arts and advertising art, but studied mostly on her own. In 1986, she held her own exhibition of some twenty paintings at the Auberge des Gouverneurs in Joliette, Quebec. What inspires Manon Beausoleil? Now that is an easier question to answer. She finds her inspiration in the everyday life and scenery of the Saint-Charles and Saint-Gabriel regions.She studies the most miniscule details of her scenes. In fact, the careful attention that she pays to detail limits the size of her production. Manon works from a photo or sketch that she brings back to her studio and pins on to the canvas. She has no favourite season and always seeks to render the atmosphere of the place. In her own words, "it's about texture, being there, feeling the scenery". Saint-Charles-de-Mandeville, lies within the Lanaudière region, north-east of Montreal. The Lanaudière is known to music afficionados for its international festival of classical music. Called the 'green region', this geographical area ties between the Saint-Lawrence river and the Laurentians, bordering the Mauricie region. The northernmost section of the Lanaudière offers magnificent scenery which some might say remains undiscovered by trendy Montrealers.

The region also boasts the Galerie Archambault, a bastion of the arts for 25 years, where Manon BeausoleiI exhibits her work. Although she has been painting for a long time, her work does not fall into the traditional categories or definitions. In the artist's own words, "it is not hyper-realism, but much closer to impressionism." Others have described Beausoleil's style as "contemporary realism with amazing compositions and variety of subjects, harmonious colour selection and a subtle brush stroke".
    Manon Beausoleil's greatest strength is her choice of subjects. Whether a portrait, still-life or landscape, her breathtakingly beautiful paintings translate a sweet melancholy. The artist's palette remains warm, but she adds that it changes with life's many seasons. Bucolic, timeless, each

canvas is a small-format eulogy (8" x 10" or 24" x 36, but rarely larger). One of Manon Beausoleil's remarks sums up her work: "I feel alive in nature and I have to express it".