Andre Pleau was born in TroisRivieres Quebec in 1950 At a very young age he developed a passion for drawing visual arts and nature On his many trips with his parents he discovered the Gaspe coast the regions north of Joliette St Tite and La Tuque just to name a few These childhood memories are still a source of inspiration for much of his art todayA selftaught artist he has learnt on his own all he knows about painting and drawing With palette knife he swipes thick traces of colour onto the canvas without the slightest hint of drawing or plan All he approaches the blank canvas with is his emotion He works with liberal and spontaneous gesture with emphasis and feverishness Once the piece is finished it is with the same small palette knife that he lines the painting from side to side leaving on its surface the shadow of a newly emerging paintingAndre is a physically active man Among his accomplishments he has competed many times in canoe racing including the prestigious Classique Internationale de Canots de le Maurice and has brought home two Gold Medals from the Montreal International Marathon And today now in his sixties he is still a regular at the local hockey rinkAndre has been featured in several forms of media coverage from newspapers to television magazines to radio His paintings are in numerous public and private collectionsHe has received several awards and prizes for his paintings In Ottawa Andres work is available at Koyman Galleries