Paint by numbers

By Adriana Ermter

Colouring within the lines is not one of Julie Mortreux’slife mantras; she’s far too vibrant for that. As an artist whoworks with oils on canvas, Mor-treux’s love affair with red, blue, orange, yellow, green and every other shade of the rainbow began before she could read. “Like most children, I loved shapes and spent hours colouring,” she says.

At the age of 11, Mortreux’s Crayola affinity shifted to pencil on paper. “When I was 11 or 12, my family moved from France to Miami and I started drawing,” she says. “As a teenager, it’s not easy to move, especially to a new country that doesn’t share your culture or language. I started drawing to create balance in my life.” In 1986 the family relocated to Montreal. “I love this city. It’s a great mix of European and North American style — the culture, the food, the arts.” As a result of her travels to many places, including China, Peru and Spain, she cultivated her artistic sensibility.

While in school and even while working, Mortreux studied fine arts at the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, learning painting and drawing techniques. She graduated from HEC Montreal in 2000 with a degree in business administration, achieved a specialty in business accounting in 2001, and in 2003 received her CA designation. Now she is studying for her trustee licence in insolvency.

“I’m really sentimental. Painting allows me to find myself and express my feelings, because in my career as a CA, I put my feelings aside. I throw all my feelings into my paintings,” she says. And it shows.

With canvases boasting titles such as Solitude, Profoundeur and Recueillement, featuring brilliant hues, relatable faces and stunning landscapes, it’s no surprise three-quarters of her 30 paintings sold at her first show in Quebec City in March 2005 and more from her website later. “My favourite is painting people; you can feel their emotions and can fill your painting with them,” she says. Mortreux aims to hold another show next year in Montreal. “Being a CA gives me an idea of the value of things. It’s how I realized my sense of worth with my paintings. It’s given me a strong business background; most artists don’t have that. But I know my numbers.” .