Besiders
From Neon to Lilac
After 12 years of hard work and sacrifice, Josiane Lanthier is just starting to make a living off her paintings. We offer a portrait of a sparkling artist whoâs more and more at ease.
TextâMĂ©lanie GagnĂ©
PhotosâEliane Cadieux
The lower sky
has colours
that will want you.
â Guillevic
September, Charlevoix: Iâm on the road, and the landscape too is on its way somewhere. The greens are fading, and the sky is dishing out coloursâa myriad of yellows, oranges, and reds. The call of geese travels over the mountains. I make a promise to remember this beauty. Iâm thinking about Josiane Lanthier; Iâm eager to hear her talk about her art and about how she records the landscape with her senses.

Lanthier is 30 years old and has been a painter since the age of 18. The Montrealer is in Baie-Saint-Paul for an artistâs residency at the Maison MĂšre, a former convent of the Petites Franciscaines de Marie, which was transformed into workspaces and art studios in 2017.
When she greets me on this autumn Saturday, sheâs blooming. Sheâs wearing a black hoodie and pastel pants covered in paint stains. She suggests we take a tour of the Maison MĂšre before we climb to the top floor where she works. We survey the chapel, its hallways covered in artworks and photos of nuns, before going up to the roof for the view. Lanthierâs borrowed studio is a white room with a high ceiling and two windows, through which a few geese are visible on a cloudy day. Wildflowers are drying with their heads pointed downwards near the door. Paint jars and cans, brushes, sketchbooks, an iridescent pencil case, and palettes are laid out on a table. There are about a dozen paintings in progress; some are almost finished, others are just beginning to take shape.


Itâs a stark contrast to her studio in MontrĂ©al, set up in her basement. Facing skyrocketing prices, Lanthier recently gave up renting a studio space. Sheâs trying to save as much as possible so that she can devote herself entirely to painting. Last April she took another important step: where she once delivered art and tended bar, she has now decided to stop taking side jobs.
In Baie-Saint-Paul, the artist takes nature walks, then comes back to paint at the end of the day. âItâs important to see the land. I went to Parc des Grands-Jardins for a hike. There were pistachio lichen, lilac-grey lichen, and little burgundy plants. It was beautiful.â Impressionism is her preferred artistic movement. Iâd figured as much; Lanthier is in love with light, colour, and landscapes. âI think I chose nature because I come from Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines and Lac des Cornes, up north. The composition of trees in space, the brightness of waves in the water, and holes of sky made by branches and leaves… Thereâs something to be had in these shapes.â
Why doesnât she return to the countryside, then? The idea simmers in the back of her mind. âI dream of having a huge, 2,000-square-foot yellow cabin and a white and blue house,â she confesses. âI just need a bit of courageâand moneyâto make the leap.â

In fact, Lanthier has courage to spare. Choosing to become an artist takes a lot of guts and determination. âI sacrificed everything! This year, for the first time, I have no credit-card debt. I have like $7,000 in my account. Iâve never had that much money in my life. Iâve gone to bed hungry before. Iâve freaked out.
When youâre broke, you worry and ask yourself whether you should have chosen this line of work. Iâve had a dozen existential crises.
Iâm doing something that doesnât fit with my social class… If I wanted to, I couldnât afford to buy one of my own paintings.â In tough times Lanthier would dream up contingency plans; she could become a hairdresser, massage therapist, or nurse. But she always came back to painting.

She developed her interest at CEGEP (post- secondary, pre-university college in QuĂ©bec) and studied art in university. Twelve years later, sheâs finally able to make a living off her art, finding buyers by word of mouth or through Instagram. Lauded Canadian artist Marc SĂ©guin discovered her work, contacted her, and bought three paintings. âIt vouched for my work in the eyes of people who donât know much about art. It was like, âIf Marc SĂ©guin buys your paintings, it means theyâre good.ââ


Lanthier is mostly silent while sheâs creating. Sometimes she forgets to breathe, sheâs so immersed in her work. Sheâll occasionally walk from one end of the studio to the other, looking at her paintings. âThey help each other out. One painting can give me the solution for another one. I always have a few in pro- gress, and theyâre always talking to each other.â Sheâs often asked herself if her solitary, precarious, passion-driven lifestyle would allow her to start a family. Many times, she thought about giving up on a family for the sake of her work. That was before she met the painter Françoise Sullivan: âIâve felt reassured ever since I ran into her at her opening at Galerie Simon Blais. Sheâs 96 years old and has four children. So itâs possible to balance family and work in my field.â

Lanthier is mostly silent while sheâs creating. Sometimes she forgets to breathe, sheâs so immersed in her work. Sheâll occasionally walk from one end of the studio to the other, looking at her paintings. âThey help each other out. One painting can give me the solution for another one. I always have a few in pro- gress, and theyâre always talking to each other.â Sheâs often asked herself if her solitary, precarious, passion-driven lifestyle would allow her to start a family. Many times, she thought about giving up on a family for the sake of her work. That was before she met the painter Françoise Sullivan:
âIâve felt reassured ever since I ran into her at her opening at Galerie Simon Blais. Sheâs 96 years old and has four children. So itâs possible to balance family and work in my field.â
MĂ©lanie GagnĂ©â âŹis a Matane-based content creator and teacherâ. âŹShe loves life in the country with her familyâ, âŹhikes along the shore and up the mountainâ, âŹpublic marketsâ, âŹpoetryâ, âŹand cafĂ©sâ.âŹ