Artist Statement
My work centers around the borderlines of light and dark. I use a range of mediums and subject matters to explore the connection to this space. I feel that this line between good and bad, soft and rough, sweet and bitter, is a recurring pattern of nature. My art is at its most honest when I make space for both.
My artistic practice varies from contemporary landscape paintings, to naked figures of women’s bodies, to charcoal portraits of coal miners. What separates my artforms from one another is less important than what connects them. They are how I express my shared experience with the spaces and people around me.
I use traditionally feminine colours to explore the contradicting elements of nature. These elements are what I am drawn to in landscapes, people and in myself. There is a thin line of opposing systems that I am looking to portray through my experience as an artist and as a woman.
Bio
Belle DeMont is an interdisciplinary artist based in Halifax, NS. She graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and went on to Concordia to explore digital art. Belle wrote the children’s book “I Love my Purse” and illustrated the children’s book “Little Tree By the Sea”. Belle recently graduated from MSVU with a specialized Visual Arts Education degree. Her work includes children’s book illustrations, charcoal portraiture, contemporary landscape paintings and traditional nude paintings. Belle is currently working on combining storytelling with traditional landscapes of rural Nova Scotia.
CV
Belle DeMont
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
902-233-0827
belleonpaper@gmail.com
Instagram: @perogieprincess
Education
Mount Saint Vincent University 2020
Bachelor of Education - Visual Arts Specialist
Concordia University 2015
Digital Illustration Certificate
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design 2010-2014
Digital Illustration Certificate
Exhibits
Rosa Rugosa Gallery, Solo, Hubbards Nova Scotia 2021-Current
Visual Arts Nova Scotia, Group, Digital Exhibition 2021
Teichert Gallery, Group, 1000 Words Exhibitions 2019
Professional Development
Visual Arts Nova Scotia 2021
New Grad Program
Professional Development
Visual Arts Teacher
Elizabeth Sutherland Jr. HighSchool Current
NOW Magazine Illustrator/ Artist in Residency Manager
Chronicle Herald 2018 - 2020
Art Gallery Of Nova Scotia
Gallery Go Workshops 2020 - 2020
Children’s Book Illustrator 2017
The Little Tree by the Sea (MacIntyre Purcell Publishing)
Illustrated and helped write the book The Little Tree by the Sea which tells the story of a little tree who helps save Halifax and Dartmouth after the 1917 Halifax Explosion.
Children’s book Author 2017
I Love My Purse (Annick Press)
Wrote the award-winning children’s book I Love My Purse , the story of a young boy named Charlie who wants to wear a purse. The book challenges gender norms and promotes inclusivity and the freedom to be yourself.
Commission Work/Projects
Writers Federation of Nova Scotia Short Film Illustration 2021
Saltscapes Magazine Article Illustrations 2020
Saltscapes Magazine Article Illustrations 2019
Now Nova Scotia Magazine Cover Illustration (Diversity in Politics) 2019
Saltscapes Magazine Article Illustrations 2018
Halifax Magazine Cover Illustration (Government for the People) 2018
Now Nova Scotia Magazine Cover Illustration (Urban V.S Rural) 2018
Awards, and Acknowledgements
Joint winner, Storytelling World Award 2019
Joint winner, Children’s Literature Recommended Lists,
Wisconsin State Reading Association 2019
Nominated, Blue Spruce Award 2018
Joint winner, Foreword Indies Book of the Year Award, Silver 2018
Joint winner, Notable Books for a Global Society 2018
Winner, Eric Hoffer Award, 1st Runner-up 2018
Joint winner, Top 10 Recommended Reads, TD Summer Reading Club 2018
Joint winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens 2018
Short-listed, Storytelling World Award 2018
Joint winner, National Parenting Product Award 2018
Short-listed, Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award 2018
Nominated, Rainforest of Reading Award 2017
Nominated, Cybils Blogger’s Award 2017
Languages: English, French
Publications:
Quill & Quire Article, written by Jodi Delong 2019
Saltscapes Magazine Article, written by Emily Donaldson 2019
Global News 2017
CBC Radio 2017
Guess them Titties
Girl Cove Magazine Article By: Hannah Nicholls 2019