LyleElderFolkArt.com > An Index of Canadian Folk Artists

Clayton Devine

Born: 1911  |  Died: 1981

Clayton Devine. Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Sculptor. Painter. Active mid 20th century.

Clayton Devine worked with mixed media often with ‘as found’ materials. He made naive paintings of local subjects and landscapes. He also made  carvings of people, birds and oxen. Mr. Devine stopped producing works in the late 1970’s.

 

Ref: Canadian Antiques and Art Review. 1980 and 1981.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

Ref: Kobayashi/Bird, A Compendium of Canadian Folk Artists (1985).

Ref: Anne Sutherland and Zalman Amit. The Sutherland/Amit Collection. Smith Falls, Ont. 1994.

Location:

David Stephens

Born: 1955

David Stephens. Painter. Sculptor. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

David Stephens is a multi-talented artist; often breaking new ground in the disciplines that he is drawn to. One of the founders of the Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival, Mr. Stephens is widely admired and  collected. A “Folk-Pop Pioneer”; David Stephens’ work is seminal and much sought after. He is a sculptor and a painter and works often with ‘as found’ materials and objects; from cars to seashells and marbles.

A link to the web site of David Stephens with images of his work:

http://davidpstephens.tripod.com/directory.html

 

 

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Raymond Beaudin

Born: 1908  |  Died: 1974

Raymond Beaudin. Sculptor. Havelock, Quebec. Active mid to late 20th century.

Raymond Beaudin was a maker of sculptures using ‘as found’ materials; especially bottle caps. There is an example of a Road Grader made entirely of bottle caps and wire in the Museum of Canadian History in Ottawa. He is first mentioned in ‘Les Patenteux du Quebec’.

 

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

Ref: Adrien Levasseur. Website. And:  Sculpteurs en Art Populaire au Quebec, Editions GID, Quebec. 2012.

Location:

Pierre Langlois

Born: Active mid to late 20th century.

Pierre Langlois. Sculptor. Wood carver. Hudson, Quebec. Active mid to late 20th century.

Pierre Langlois is a carver of ornamental ducks and other water fowl. Very well detailed and coloured.

 

An example of his work:

Pierre Langlois. Hudson Quebec.

Pierre Langlois. Hudson Quebec.

His mark:

Pierre Langlois. His mark.

Pierre Langlois. His mark.

 

Location:

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau

Born: ? Active c. 1925.

Mlles H. Blondeau. Sculptors. Wood carvers. Quebec City area.  Active 1920’s-1940’s.

The Mlles Blondeau made souvenir carvings. They were one of the earliest artists in this field in the Quebec City area. Little is known about them – were they sisters? Mother and daughter? They were obviously very talented. The Mlles Blondeau did not work in the flat-plane tradition. They usually painted their carvings.  Most of their work was naïve, painted low relief carvings or ‘bas relief’ although I have seen a shadow box by them occasionally. Who they are and their exact dates are is still a mystery Their range seems to be from the early 1920’s to the late 1930’s.

The Mlles Blondeau  usually signed with a stamp (Mlles H. Blondeau, Quebec) or wood punch; sometimes the mark was burnt into the wood and sometimes just stamped.  They worked in Basswood and their work was often very good and very colorful.

An example; two relief carvings of  Quebec houses in winter. Signed in lower left corner under the paint:

Les Mademoiselles Blondeau Pair of relief carvings.

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau. A Pair of relief carvings.

 

A Shadow Box of a Sugar Scene. Pine and Basswood:

Les Mademoiselles Blondeau. Shadow Box.

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau Shadow Box. Sugar Scene.

 

Les Mademoiselles Blondeau Shadow Box. Reverse 600.

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau Shadow Box. Reverse with stamp.

 

A round ‘bas relief’ of a cabin in winter. Basswood. Their stamp is just visible in lower left:

Les Mademoiselles Blondeau. Quebec City. Relief Carving Cabin In Winter.

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau. Quebec City. Relief Carving Cabin In Winter.

 

A Relief Carving of a Sleigh in Winter:

Les Mademoiselles Blondeau. Relief carving.

Mademoiselles H. Blondeau. Relief carving. 1940’s.

 

And the reverse with a written note by the owner giving the date of purchase (1949):

Les Mlles. H. Blondeau. Relief Carving. Detail of reverse.

Mlles. H. Blondeau. Relief Carving. Detail of reverse.

 

 

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