Canadian Artist Rene Thibault

Born in Saskatchewan in 1947, Rene Thibault was raised and educated in the communities of Debden and Prince Albert. On graduating from grade twelve, he moved to Calgary where he attended the Alberta College of Art & Design for four years, earning his Diploma of Applied Arts by 1969.

After leaving College, he worked for five years with a firm prominent in architectural illustration, and a few years with a company as Art Director. In 1977, he established his own firm, specializing in architectural illustration.

About 1987, Rene Thibault began to paint for its own relevance.

Much of his inspiration comes in the company of his wife Jean, with whom he has shared life’s moments since 1984. Whether they are canoeing and hiking in the Rockies, surrounded by icebergs off Newfoundland, or touring parts of Europe, Rene is constantly photographing elements of interest which form the basis from which his paintings eventually emerge. In addition, viewing the landscape from an aerial viewpoint has also influenced this artist. By chartering small aircraft, Rene has acquired reference photographs of rare views of such as the Barrier Reef off Belize, and the Canadian Rockies.

Regionally, his works have been exhibited with many commercial galleries since 1989. He has also been represented in numerous curated group exhibitions by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Nationally, he has participated in numerous juried group exhibitions with each of the following: the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, of Toronto; the Federation of Canadian Artists, of Vancouver; and the Society of Canadian Artists, of Toronto. He has been recipient of jury awards in many of these exhibitions.

Internationally, he has been juried into numerous group exhibitions by the following: the Royal Watercolour Society, of London, UK; the National Watercolor Society, of San Pedro, CA; the Philadelphia Water Color Society, of Philadelphia, PA; and the Salmagundi Club at the Center for American Art in New York, NY (awarded a Certificate of Merit).

The paintings of this artist hang nationally and internationally in various corporate and private collections, and form part of the Collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Diploma Collection of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.