Oscar Heon. Sculptor. Wood carver. Cap-de-la-Madelaine, Quebec. Active mid-20th century.

Oscar Heon carved occasionally through-out his life and turned to it full time after he retired. His sculptures were often complex and focused on people and their activities. He was as interested in modern Quebec social events as he was with traditional scenes. He worked with many materials and media, often recycling household things and their parts in his works and  if his carved kitchen scene had a pot on the stove it was made by him out of metal. He always coloured his works in high gloss primary colours. He carved toys, Religious figures and often of his pieces were mechanized. Shown below in a link to The Canadian History Museum site is a work called “Morning Exercise” that was inspired by a Telivision program. (This work also appears to be mechanized.)

Link: http://collections.museedelhistoire.ca/public/pages/cmccpublic/alt-emupublic/Display.php?irn=70733&QueryPage=Query.php&lang=0

His work is rarely found outside of museums and a few private collections as his body of work was bought and dispersed, mainly to museums, by Nettie Sharp in the 1970’s.

Ref: Galipeau, Pascale and Peressini, Mauro and Millette, Richard and Carpentier, Paul. Les Paradis du monde : L’art populaire du Québec. Hull, Qc: Musée canadien des civilisations/Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1995.

L. B. Bedard. Sculptor. Wood carver. Quebec. Active first half of the 20th century.

A carving of a Moose by L. B. Bedard  has been seen with the date 1936. No other information is available. It is a primitive carving done in Pine and varnished.

A link to an image of the Moose:*

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoplo/9424111544/in/album-72157634905368276/

*Ref: Flicker account of Jacques Pleau.

Francois Mercier. Sculptor. Wood carver. Mont-Saint-Pierre, Gaspe, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Francois Mercier made carvings of model boats and of very elegant birds. He carved in Pine and sometimes used color and sometimes not. He often made the body of the bird first and then applied very elegantly curved wings. Like many of the artists of that period (1960’s-1970’s); signed pieces by him are rare.

Ref: Les Patenteux du Qubec. Louise de Grosbois, Raymonde Lamothe and Lise Nantel, Les Editions Parti Pris, Montreal, 1978.

Leonard ‘Leo’ Lapierre. Sculptor. Wood carver. Gaspe, Quebec. Active late 20th century.

Leo Lapierre made carvings in the round of both animals and people using traditional carving techniques but he gradually began working with ‘as found materials. He worked with driftwood, stone, metal, glass and bone. He would find the form of an animal or bird in driftwood and give it meaning with color and a title. M. Lapierre made musical instruments using household containers as sound boxes. A very talented artist, he found art everywhere and filled his life with it.

Ref: Un Art Pas Si Bete. Cecile Gelinas, Musee de la Gaspesie, Quebec, 1993.

Albert Roy. Sculptor. Wood cerver. Nouvelle, Gaspe, Quebec. Active mid 20th century.

Familiar  with wood all his life, Albert Roy began carving when he retired to his hometown of Nouvelle. He made relief carvings and carvings in the round of traditional Quebec scenes of daily life as well as animals, fish and birds. His carvings were full of movement and detail; in his carvings of animals they were never at rest. His work was refined, delicate and charming. He rarely painted his work but would color in details for dramatic effect.

Ref: Un Art Pas Si Bete. Cecile Gelinas, Musee de la Gaspesie, Quebec, 1993.