Artists and Teachers
Carole Majeau
Biography
A native of St-Gabriel-de-Brandon in Lanaudière, it was in this beautiful region that I discovered decorative art. After completing countless projects and participating in training activities in several shop, I decided to teach decorative painting at my home.
After moving to Quebec City for work, I continued to perfect my skills by attending seminars with renowned artists. In 2010, I decided to acquire the store La Boîte à Pin-So to combine my entrepreneurial experience with my passion for art.
Today, I’m fortunate to be able to make a living from my passion for decorative and visual art through my work and management of Pin-So, Les Éditions CDP and Powertex Canada.
It’s a pleasure to share my passion with others and discuss future projects.
Specialties
A true jack-of-all-trades!
Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed media, Painting on fabric, silk, glass, porcelain, Powertex and others.
Favourite subjects: Animals, Landscapes, Cities, Flowers.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Carole sometimes offers her pattern-edited projects in seminar. She also offers Powertex certification and painting on silk seminars.
Josée Cloutier
Biography
For over ten years now, I’ve devoted myself exclusively to painting, creating projects on canvas, fabric, porcelain or wood, all published in pattern, and I teach 6 to 8 classes a week at Pin-So in Quebec City.
As a young adult, I studied fashion design and worked in clothing design for some twenty years.
From the age of 8, I learned to paint with oils and palette knives. I’ve always been drawn to drawing and painting. Today, my style is very varied, but remains tinged with a feminine influence and fashion characters.
I use a wide variety of media, from acrylics and oils to mixed media and Imitation Stained Glass.
Specialties
A true jack-of-all-trades!
Acrylics, Oils, Watercolors, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed Media, Painting on fabric, glass, porcelain, Powertex and more.
Favourite subjects: Characters, Landscapes, Cities.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Tuesday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Wednesday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Thursday: 9:30am to 12:30pm; 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Saturday every 2 weeks*:
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Josée sometimes offers her projects published as patterns in seminar. She also offers short, very accessible mixed media workshops, such as her very popular Dessin de mode, as well as a few creative courses, such as those on gel plate printing.
Brigitte Malenfant
Biography
A native of Quebec City, the artist in me has been present for a long time, even as a young girl drawing on my school desk and notebooks. My studies led me towards a degree in accounting, but my artistic side was always present.
In 1997, I enrolled in a decorative painting course and discovered my passion. Since then, I’ve taken several courses and seminars, which have enabled me to discover and improve several painting techniques.
I’m an artist who likes to think outside the box, fusing realistic and abstract art in my creations. I enjoy working with animal and floral themes. I also like to pass on my passion for the arts to all age groups. The techniques I use require no specific training, just an interest in expressing oneself.
Specialties
Acrylics, Imitation Stained Glass, Inks, Mixed media, Painting on fabric, glass, porcelain, Powertex and more.
Favorite subject: Animals.
Art Classes and Seminars
Creative art class for children
Saturday every 2 weeks :
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Brigitte sometimes offers her projects published as patterns in seminar.
Arielle Cloutier
Biography
First and foremost a multidisciplinary creator with a master’s degree in Literature, Performing and Screen Arts from Université Laval, and co-founder of the Collectif Dans Ta Tête, I’m particularly interested in interactive and immersive spaces where the viewer generates reflection through their relationship with the artwork. Perpetually avid of all forms of art, I’ve never stopped being curious, trying to understand how a creation comes to life, how artists bend the established rules and how they manage to touch the audience deeply. As a child, I devoured every book, film and “making of” I could find, but it wasn’t enough! I’d even spend whole days in the hot sun, running around on my friends’ lawns, recreating my favorite stories in the style of a play.
Today, I always end up combining several art forms, such as integrating 2D animation into a show, doing live digital painting and telling stories in my paintings. Art transcends all forms, being primarly the communication of our inner selves.
Since 2016, I’ve been dedicated to sharing my love for traditional visual art at Pin-So, whether through teaching or creating artwork and merchandise. I make it my personal mission to equip my fellow enthusiasts to create, and to help them master the basics enabling them to freely express the extent of their imagination.
Specialties
Acrylics, Watercolors, inks, Mixed Media, Pastels, Drawing, Fabric painting and more.
Favourite subjects: Portraits, Characters.
Art Classes and Seminars
Weekly Creative Art Class
Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Recurrent seminars
Arielle offers several technical and creative seminars (Volume du visage, Initiation à la perspective, Communiquer par les couleurs, Créer, c’est s’amuser, etc.) that recur from season to season. She also offers seminars on other subjects from time to time, depending on inspiration and student demand.
Lorraine Paradis
Biography
Coming soon.
Specialties
Acrylic, Faux stained glass, Pastel, Mixed media and others.
Favorite subject: Animals.
Stéphanie Filion
Biography
Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been creative and drawn to drawing. My academic career has always taken me to areas where I could satisfy my artistic side. I completed a DEC in Fine Arts at Édouard Montpetit and then did a year in arts, literature and media studies at Saint-Hyacinthe. All this was to prepare me to move to Quebec City and do a DEC in interior design, which I completed in 2011.
This background has enabled me to work in both digital and visual art. I’m very analytical in my work. I can spend a lot of time thinking about a design or color combinations before arriving at a final product. Whether in interior design or in my patterns.
In addition to being self-employed, I joined the Pin-So team in 2019. Then in 2021, with the help of Éditions CDP, I started making patterns. I find this a great way to share my art and passion. Especially as I love giving advice and tips to the people around me. I also invite you to follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see my creations!
Specialties
Acrylic, watercolor, gouache and others.
Favourite subjects: Animals and characters.
Cathie Migout
Biography
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always had paintbrushes and crayons in my hands.
I have taken acrylic painting courses for several years with different teachers, and all the techniques I have learned have enabled me to perfect my skills and create my own style.
Today, I’m a decorative painting teacher in France, where I teach my passion with joy and good humor, and my thirst for creativity has led me to become a decorative painting pattern designer.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favorite subjects: Animals, still lifes, amusing characters.
Céline Émond
Biography
Born in Île d’Orléans, Céline Émond, visual arts teacher, self-taught painter and portrait painter, offers drawing lessons based on observation, with particular emphasis on understanding shadows, light and natural perspective. Her developed technique features graphite in various forms, as well as the use of different types of erasers.
With over 30 years’ experience, she is committed to guiding each student in his or her personal artistic quest, with the aim of offering the best possible support. She offers oil painting courses and a variety of interesting creative workshops. Click below for more details.
Specialties
Drawing, Oil painting, Ink, Graphite, Mixed media, Colored pencils.
Favorite subjects: People, Portraits, Animals, Flowers.
Art Classes and Seminars
Recurrent seminars
Céline offers several 10-course sessions almost every season, such as her popular and proven drawing classes and her oil painting course. She also gives 3 workshops to stimulate your creativity with accessible and fun techniques (Affiche tes couleurs and the Lignes en folie workshop series).
Debbie Cotton
Biography
As a young girl, I always had a fascination and admiration for art! Throughout my school years, I was identified for my natural ability to design and won prizes for my creations. As a teenager, I painted many windows in local restaurants, creating seasonal window displays as well as posters for upcoming events. Art has always played a role in my life in one way or another. I’m fortunate to be able to turn my passion into a career. I’ve been designing and teaching for 25 years now! I’ve made a name for myself in the decorative painting industry for my signature vintage style, with many of my works published in books, DVDs and painting magazines. I am a certified Pebeo product specialist, artist ambassador with Royal Brush and member of the DecoArt Americana Helping Artist program. I participate in numerous annual trade shows. I teach while traveling and also at our local bar for paint parties. I love creating a variety of designs from vintage to abstract to mixed media and more! I believe art helps us see beauty in things we may never have noticed. Stop and smell the roses, so to speak.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subjects: Animals, Landscapes, Nature.
Geneviève Charron
Biography
HAPPINESS, PLEASURE and ACHIEVEMENT
For me, the joy of painting is priceless. All those hours of pleasure bring me great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment that’s very important for my personal well-being.
Painting, drawing or crafting…wonderful ways to escape!
Visual design is an integral part of my universe, so my academic career has been driven by this creative motivation. In 1996, I graduated from Cégep de Rimouski with a diploma in Fine Arts. In 1999, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Communications from Université Laval, and in 2001, my Master’s degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia from the same university.
Following my studies, I worked for multimedia agencies and evolved in this digital world for several years. However, my passion for drawing is always present, enriched by my apprenticeships. In the end, it brought me back to the very essence of my love of art: illustration.
In 2008, I founded my workshop-boutique for hand-painted products, La Petite Maison. Thousands of glasses, tableware and table accessories are distributed through various points of sale. Over 50,000 pieces have been painstakingly painted and distributed throughout Quebec. The La Petite Maison brand is now recognized and sought-after.
Sharing my passion is a great source of inspiration for moving forward in my life. More than ever, I want to guide other enthusiasts on their artistic journey. I offer training and market various projects for the wonderful world of creative leisure.
I want to spread my passion to all those who wish to be fulfilled by this madness of painting for pleasure!
Happy painting, artists!
Specialties
Painting on dishes.
Favourite subjects: Animals, Characters, Still lifes in a naive, animated style.
Art Classes and Seminars
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Geneviève sometimes offers projects in seminar format.
Hélène Bisson
Biography
Originally from Bellechasse (Lac-Etchemin), I’ve been living in La Baie in the Saguenay since 2000. As a teenager, I already had a keen interest in freehand drawing, and I was lucky enough to have parents who let me exploit my talents by letting me draw on the walls of my bedroom and basement. Those were my first attempts.
After two years studying applied art, life led me to work in interior design for 3 years. From then on, I left the art world for a few years to take on other professional challenges.
During my daughter’s pregnancy, being a very active person, I decided to take a decorative painting course to pass the time. I made my first attempts at painting an old desk to mark the birth of my daughter. The positive reaction and comments of those around me convinced me to start painting again. From then on, I started painting (self-taught) on different objects, such as stools, wooden boxes, milk cans, wooden trays and so on. I’ve also explored different techniques for faux finishes, frescoes and decorations, all in a very versatile style. One thing led to another, by word of mouth, and my creations have come a long way. After meeting someone, I was invited to take a workshop on painting on canvas, a revelation for me!
Since then, I’ve been painting on canvas and refining my art full-time. I paint my subjects with a touch of spontaneity and from there my inspiration. I work with a vibrant color palette that reflects my joie de vivre and allows me to share my dynamism. I consider myself truly privileged to be able to pursue this childhood dream.
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subjects: Flowers and animals.
Art Classes and Seminars
Occasional Seminars
Depending on the inspiration of the moment, Hélène sometimes offers unedited projects in pattern exclusively in seminar format and painted with acrylics.
Jacinthe Tremblay
Biography
For as long as I can remember, a passion for art and decoration has been part of my life. By the age of 10, I was drawing everything in sight! I took many drawing and painting courses, but it was in 2002 that I discovered the world of Norwegian painting and fell in love!
To warm up their daily lives, Norwegians took pleasure in dressing up everyday objects with a few brushstrokes. The kysta tradition was a revelation! What a gift this hand-painted chest was for his daughter’s trousseau. A passion for furniture was born!
So I learned Rosemaling and Telemark skiing from Mrs Rabi, who was 76 at the time… A wonderful woman who spent her life sharing this art. Fascinated by the traditional art of JoSonja and to develop my brushstrokes, I also enrolled in David Jansen’s Tradition program.
At the dawn of my fifties, my taste for decoration led me to make a career change from nurse to interior designer. A few years ago, I discovered chalk paint and fell in love with its finish!
Now retired, I share my passion for furniture by using chalk paint to bring these sometimes forgotten objects back to life…
Specialties
Chalk painting, Furniture restoration, Linocut, Water-based mixed media.
Favorite subjects: Flowers, animals, still lifes.
Art Classes and Seminars
Recurrent seminars
Jacinthe offers several times a season her furniture restoration classes (Chalk Painting 101, How to embellish your furniture), her linocut classes (Introduction, Creating repetitive geometric patterns, Creating the shell motif, Linocut on grocery bag and wine bag) and her Abstract flowers in watercolour classes.
Manon Bureau
Biography
I’ve been teaching decorative painting for 20 years now. During my 2nd maternity leave, I started painting on wood with Michel Therrien. I was immediately hooked on this art form, and haven’t stopped since. So I enrolled in multiple courses with different artists, on different surfaces (wood, fabric, canvas) to learn different techniques and mediums. I want to learn everything.
My passion for faux stained glass was born when I met Julie Lafaille and Andrée Bourguignon over 13 years ago at an art fair in Boucherville. And that passion only grew stronger with the arrival of Josée Cloutier’s patterns.
Faux stained glass is really my passion, I always want to work with it, my brain thinks faux stained glass. Not being a pattern designer, I first chose, with the permission of Geneviève Charron of La Petite Maison, my faux vitrail inspirations from her large collection of designs. And to help me share this mad passion with you, Josée Cloutier offered to adapt some of her designs and publish them as patterns. What a pleasure it is to do this!
Specialties
Acrylics.
Favourite subjects: Animals, amusing characters and parties.
Art Classes and Seminars
Free creative workshops irregular timetable*
Monday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Mélanie Boulet
Biography
Mélanie has explored many facets of decorative painting over the past decade. She finds unparalleled pleasure in painting everyday objects to bring them to life in new colors. In this way, she possesses the talent to shape her environment so that it becomes more like her. She is delighted to pass on this privilege to children through her generous, high-quality teaching.
Specialties
Acrylic and paint on fabric.
Favourite subjects: Animals and Characters.
Monic Girard
Biography
A resident of the beautiful Laurentides, she paints close to her beloved bustards.
A painter since 1985, she grew up with visual artists, as her father was one of the creators of the Salon des Arts Visuels for the Lower Laurentians.
Monic has been a teacher for over 20 years and a pattern designer for 7.
Initially an oil painter, she discovered decorative painting 15 years ago and it was love at first sight!
She likes to integrate different textures on canvas and use different mediums, always experimenting with new techniques.
Monic is the organizer of the Paint In show in Quebec and is President of the Quebec Academy of Decorative Painting in 2018/2019. She offers her experience to academicians, all in a friendly atmosphere.
Since 2018, she has been teaching the rudiments of decorative painting in Florida. She has been a guest artist at Toronto’s Art Waves for over 3 years, teaching her techniques, and some of her paintings have found their way into art galleries.
Since 2015, she has been an “Artist Helper” for DecoArt and proudly informs you about the various products. Since 2017, she has been using Demco’s Art Pro brushes. Her patterns will show you them as she only uses these brushes for her canvases.
Now retired from her profession, she devotes herself entirely to creating patterns for you.
Specialties
Acrylic and paint on fabric.
Favourite subjects: Animals, Urban scenes and landscapes, Abstract.
