Two years ago, Jeannette Sirois' younger sister, a photographer, sent her an email out of the blue about The Kingston Prize, a national portrait competition.
Sirois was perplexed about her sibling's intentions as she was primarily an abstract painter, drawer and designer; however, the Surrey resident and Langara College visual arts lecturer decided to give a whirl although she had never taken a portraiture class in her life.
Despite being pleased with her submission, Sirois' entry didn't make the cut but the challenge spurred her on to do more. A few months later, her second-ever portrait took first place with the Surrey Arts Gallery and, since then, her new-found skill has won rave reviews and accolades.
Now, Sirois has her first collection of portraits, titled Beyond Real: Overexposed Underexposed, which will be unveiled at Port Coquitlam's Leigh Square Community Arts Village next week.
Her series features 21 images of hired models, close friends and family members, ranging in age from 20 to 80. And the process she used to capture each of them in a non-traditional way - i.e., outside of a studio setting - was meticulous.
Because she admits she has difficulty reading faces and proportions, Sirois spent about two hours talking and walking with each subject, snapping up to 400 photos per person to record their facial expressions. Sirois wanted to make them feel comfortable so the chatter would happen in a living room or on a trail - anywhere they would feel more relaxed, she said.
Then, at her computer, she sifted through the digital pictures and zeroed in on her favourites. Using the software PhotoShop, Sirois played with the images - overexposing, underexposing, cropping and adjusting the composition, for example - until she settled on a few. Those images - the ones that she believed brought out the most character - became the basis of her portrait drawings.
Every drawing took between 70 and 100 hours and were done in a new medium for her: pencil crayon, which Sirois says offers the most control for portraits.
But sometimes when Sirois showed her subjects the finished project, the raw elements of the face - that is, the lines, wrinkles, frowns, etc. - generated a negative reaction, she said.
Still, Sirois said she's encouraged by the feedback to her artwork. After her inaugural show ends in PoCo on Jan. 12, her collection will be exhibited at The Cultch in Vancouver.
The opening reception for Jeannette Sirois' Beyond Real: Overexposed Underexposed is on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Leigh Square Community Arts Village (behind PoCo city hall). There is no cost for admission and Christmas-themed refreshments will be served.
@jwarrenTC
