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About Me

I completed my fine arts education after working in law, diplomacy, and academic research. Born in Quebec City, I have lived in Montreal, Berlin, Toronto, Moscow, and Michigan, USA. Since 2008, I have lived in the Outaouais region, near Ottawa.

Canadian Diplomat

I worked for two years in Moscow as a Canadian diplomat, from 1984 to 1986, while Russia was still part of the USSR.
It was a major turning point in my life. That experience deeply inspired me and guided me toward art.

Fine Arts Program

After completing my posting in Moscow, I left the foreign service. Returning to Canada, I enrolled in the fine arts program at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in Toronto. I graduated with honors in 1991, and have been working as an independent artist ever since.

Blog

Through the articles I regularly publish on my blog, I invite you to discover how my journey unfolded and how my artwork reflects it.

My Journey

Before studying fine arts, I worked across several fields: law, academic research, teaching, and diplomacy.

Born in Quebec City, I have lived in Montreal, Berlin, Toronto, Michigan, and Moscow, USSR. It was there, as a member of the diplomatic service of the Canadian Department of External Affairs, that I served as a political officer.

In 1986, I left the civil service and returned to Toronto. I enrolled in the fine arts program at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and graduated with honors in 1991.

I now live in Luskville, Quebec, and work as an independent artist.

Fine Arts

In 1989, when I began my fine arts studies, I already had a substantial portfolio. In fact, I had dreamed of becoming an artist since my teenage years, but back then, I wasn’t certain I had enough inspiration, and I was encouraged to pursue a more lucrative career.

By my early thirties, my life had completely transformed. Studies, travel, diplomacy, and the perspective that life experience brings had heightened my sensitivity to the world around me.

It felt entirely natural to express the richness of this journey through art. I was ready to answer the call of my youth. I now had much to say; all I needed was to master the language of art.

My Training

The Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto enjoyed an enviable reputation for the excellence of its fine arts program. It was a natural choice for me. I enrolled in 1989, at a time when great emphasis was still placed on traditional studio instruction.

In addition to the regular curriculum, through independent studies, I had the privilege of studying alongside renowned artists specializing in traditional techniques.

I deepened my knowledge of several facets of artistic practice: color theory, composition, and advanced drawing techniques, to name just three.

My Artistic Practice

Upon completing this rigorous training, I possessed the necessary foundations to create on canvas what I had always envisioned: a plausible expressionist world with a coherent and harmonious structure.

This meant that I now knew how to paint from carefully developed compositions where every single element is deliberate.

It also meant knowing how to use a minimal color palette to achieve maximum impact, following the principles of the color wheel.

My Mission

As I explained in a Radio-Canada documentary in 1996, my mission has remained consistent throughout my journey: creating art that is accessible to everyone.

The titles of my paintings and drawings are integral to the artwork; through them, I provide keys to unlock their meaning. In every piece, I strive to convey a message—humorous, insightful, or whimsical. What each viewer takes away is deeply personal.

Yet the underlying message remains cohesive, grounded in structure and discipline. Nothing is left to chance. All components work in harmony. Every artwork tells a story, and each one holds purpose.

My Blog

Publications

I regularly publish articles on my blog covering a wide range of topics: why did I decide to become an artist at age thirty?

The Art World

What do I paint and how? Where do I situate myself in the art world? What does a specific artwork mean?

My Career

How did I build my career and why do I consistently adhere to traditional techniques? Advice, recommendations, and insights.

My Articles

I invite you to read my posts and join the conversation in the comments. This dialogue is very meaningful to me; it keeps my work vibrant and relevant.

Testimonials

  • John Christmann

    Collector, Toronto, JC Holdings Inc.

    “As the owner of ULTRA GALERIE in downtown Toronto, I was the first to exhibit Denyse’s work in 1991. I have been collecting her work ever since and it is part of my décor wherever I live. Her works never lose their novelty and freshness, and I continue to discover their depth every day. It enriches my life, and I am proud to have promoted her work for many years.”

  • Deborah Malamud

    Collector, Manhattan

    I love Denyse’s work for both its visual quality and its evocative power. To generate this energy, she takes command of perspective. Her palette is carefully studied and her compositions dynamic. She deals with important political themes with a humour that, in my view, at the same time prompts serious reflection.

    I never tire of having her paintings around me – whatever the medium and whatever their size.

  • Howard and Judith Sandys

    Collectors, Toronto

    “We have long appreciated and admired Denyse’s vision and artistic talent. As a painter, she is able to translate into images her feelings about many aspects of our contemporary life. Denyse’s approach to subjects such as the place of women in various workplaces, her view of male executives and her take on certain current institutions is clearly expressed in her paintings. Denyse has the unique ability to cast a sharp and sometimes satirical eye on our realities thanks to her immense artistic talent.”

  • Rob Howse

    Collector, Manhattan

    “During the last painful decade of Soviet communism, Denyse Goulet, a young Canadian diplomat, lived and worked in Moscow. Her images capture the relationship between a ruthless, sinister power and its helpless victims. Her body of work is akin to that of painters such as Gerhard Richter and Luc Tuymans, who also captured this all-too-recent past through striking images emphasizing human brutality and alienation. Yet in Denyse Goulet’s work, an often exuberant palette is paired with a composition that could be described as expressionist. Her paintings sometimes hide an element of humour, some would even say satire. This is how her work transcends the gravity of its subject. It invites the imagination to rise above the greyness of oppression and adversity, as a Tiepolo sky does. It is a call to a liberation that, as we now know, is limited to the aesthetic, political reality not having really changed.”

  • Daniel Osborne

    Distinguished photographer, Gatineau, Quebec

    “Since 2014, as a distinguished photographer with expertise in photographing works of art, I have been documenting Denyse Goulet’s portfolio. I also adapt photographs taken before the digital era. I discover her images in depth. When I am in Denyse’s studio, and throughout my work, I am struck by the subtlety of her work and the strength of her artistic vision. Denyse creates paintings full of life and colour, often bathed in humour, a true joy for the eyes and the soul. Nothing leaves me indifferent.”

  • Pierre Calvé

    Denyse Goulet’s paintings are highly original and reflect a thoroughly unique way of seeing and painting, with immense talent and an eye as critical as it is evocative, different characters, different scenes of everyday life. Yet you will never find crude realism here: her sense of perspective and her often diffuse play of shades and colours is impressionism in the literal sense of the term, which stirs a range of emotions in the viewer, from which a touch of humour often emerges. Great art.