Jacqueline Tremblay
Born on January 27, 1946 on the Rang de la Goudronnerie, near Baie-Saint-Paul.
With numerous artists in the family, was instinctively drawn to the arts.
On first trying to create something, found that she could draw, but was incapable of painting.
Ultimately discovered her own style through a technique she developed around 1976, using eggshells to create her paintings.
Developed her technique by gluing eggshells to cardboard, gradually leaving more room to paint, thus producing mixed-media works.
Video of Jacqueline Tremblay
A Family of Artists
I come from a family of artists. My aunt is Mary Bouchard, then there's Lucien Bouchard, Stanley Bouchard, Arthur Bouchard, Cécile Bouchard, Édith Bouchard and Laure-Marie Bouchard, who created extraordinary sculptures. My other aunts and my mother also tried their hand at art. All of them were quite skilled.
An Innate Talent
My mother made hats. When I was little, I would watch her as she created an extraordinary hat from nothing. My grandfather also made fantastic things. I thought to myself, 'These people are magicians.' I wanted to be just like them, and I thought things like that happened at everyone's house. I knew that I was going to paint and sculpt. I knew it quite early. It was something inside me.
My Grandfather
When I was a child, before going to bed, I would often watch my grandfather, who spent a lot of time carving. I would watch what he was doing. I'd ask him, 'What are you doing?' And he'd answer, 'I'm making a small sheep.' I couldn't see any sheep at all! But the next morning I would find the little animal on the windowsill.
The Eggshell Paintings
“I experimented a lot, and one day I found some eggshells. I took the eggs, and stuck the shells onto cardboard. After that, I started making pictures that were completely covered in eggshells.”
Jacqueline Tremblay
Gallery of Jacqueline Tremblay
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Photo of the family in front of César's windmill at Rang de la Goudronnerie. Jacqueline is in her mother's arms.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.2
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Jacqueline Tremblay at thirteen.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.3
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Young graduate Jacqueline Tremblay at eighteen.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.4
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Jacqueline and her husband Guertain Mailloux, ca. 1996.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.5
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Photograph in front of César's mill in Rang de la Goudronnerie at Baie-Saint-Paul. Left to right: Jacqueline, her uncle Lucien Bouchard (sculptor and owner of the property), Micheline Azombo (her niece, whose father was African), and her husband Guertain, ca. 2000.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.6
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Jacqueline and her son Tony who, with his wife Océane, had just adopted a baby girl from China.
2004.
Photo from Jacqueline Tremblay's collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.7
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Growing up in a family of artists, Jacqueline Tremblay felt unequal to painting, and created her own artistic process using eggshells. Using this new technique, she created the first painting in a five-act allegory, based on themes in the song "Jack Monoloy" by Gilles Vigneault. Over next several months, she began distancing herself from this unusual medium. By the time she completed the panel depicting the story's tragic denouement, her mastery of traditional painting techniques was clear.
Jack Monoloy Loved a White Woman
1981
Eggshells and vegetable dyes
CMCC 83-1949
"Jack Monoloy loved a white woman; Jack Monoloy was an Indian."
— Gilles Vigneault
Photo de la collection de Martin Bouchard
Archives, CMCC
2009-H0015.1.3.1.8
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The Name of His Beloved
1981
Eggshells, vegetable dyes
CMCC 83-1951
"With a hunting knife he carved the name of his beloved into the bark of a birch tree."
— Gilles Vigneault
Marie-Louise Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0018-Dm
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The Lovers are Discovered by the Authorities
1981
Eggshells, vegetable dyes, acrylic paint
CMCC 83-1957
"One day we picked up their trail; we saw them on the shore."
— Gilles Vigneault
Marie-Louise Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0021-Dm
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Jack Monoloy is Heartbroken
1983
Eggshells, vegetable dyes, acrylic paint
CMCC 83-1952
Photo de la collection de Martin Bouchard
Archives, CMCC
2009-H0015.1.3.1.8
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Jack Monoloy Lies at the Bottom of the River
1983
Acrylic paint
CMCC 83-1950
"Jack Monoloy, God took his soul, on a bright and sunny Sunday morning, in a white canoe high above the dam, leapt to his fate."
— Gilles Vigneault
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Teenager Hanging Out
1976
Natural eggshells and eggshells browned in the oven, cardboard, varnish
CMCC 83-1956
Steven Darby
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0020-Dm
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Mother Breastfeeding Her Child
1979
Eggshells, acrylic paint on cardboard
Marie-Louise Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0035-Dm
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Welcoming Committee
2007
Eggshells and acrylic on canvas
The long table is laid for a party at the César windmill in the Goudronnerie section of Baie-Saint-Paul: one of the legendary centres of traditional Quebec culture. César’s grandson Tony and his wife Océane had just adopted a little Chinese girl. These days, people often have multiple roots.
Marie-Louise Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0036-Dm
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A Modern Quebec Family
2006
Acrylic paint on emu eggs
Private Collection
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.16
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The Lumberjacks
Eggshells and vegetable paint on canvas board
CMCC 82-314
Jacqueline Tremblay enjoys juxtaposing traditional and modern activities. In the foreground, a worker uses a chainsaw. In the background, two horses can be seen pulling a load of wood.
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Jump
1982
Eggshells, acrylic paint on canvas board
CMCC 83-1943
This work is an expression of women’s liberation.
Marie-Louise Deruaz
CMCC IMG2008-0080-0118-Dm
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Self-Portrait?
Ink drawing
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.19
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When Daddy Went Off to War
Coloured pencil sketch
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.20
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Traditional Scene
Coloured pencil sketch
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.21
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Picnic Scene
Pencil sketch
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.22
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Village
Pencil sketch
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.23
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Pencil sketches
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.24
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Pencil sketches
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.25
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Pencil sketches
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.26
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Pencil sketches
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.27
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Pencil sketches
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.28
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Jacqueline Tremblay painting emu eggs in her studio.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.29
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Jacqueline Tremblay painting emu eggs in her studio.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.30
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Jacqueline Tremblay working on a design using eggshells that she will later paint.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.31
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Jacqueline Tremblay working on a design using eggshells that she will then paint.
Jean-François Blanchette, 2007
CMCC Archives
2009-H0015.1.3.6.32
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