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Artist Statement for Marie Denise Jean Baptiste
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Marie Denise Jean-Baptiste was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
It was in early childhood that Denise became aware of her special interest in art. Her father had an appointments book that was illustrated with reproductions of the great classical and impressionist painters, which she would borrow and pore over. It was not until later that she discovered the rich culture of art that is native to her own Haiti. At school she attended drawing courses and it was this combination of awe and pencil to paper practice that made her conscious of the thrill of being creative and stimulated her to continue discovering the wonders and possibilities of having art as a core part of her life.
She caught the attention of her drawing teacher, a promising artist himself, who introduced her to academic drawing and painting. On her own she continued doing drawings, charcoal on paper, and then some aquarelle paintings. Through these years she sketched as her imagination directed, (most of which sketches she kept and still uses in her paintings today.)
The calling, however, never left her and, despite the distractions of being responsibly employed in a business career, it inexorably grew. In 2002 Denise enrolled at Grotte des Arts Plastics where she begin to use acrylics, and quickly took to the use of the vivid colors offered by that medium. This schooling reinforced in her the essentials of technique. Her canvas surfaces are sometimes rough but she prefers to prepare her canvasses herself and takes satisfaction in being a part of the process that will carry through to a finished piece of work.
Where does Denise find herself now, with her career really just beginning? “After learning about painting at art schools, I felt this need to step back from what I had learned. I wanted to paint at a distance from my Haitian reality and be able to open my mind and spirit to other forms and of art from other countries.
“Artists are a reflection of the culture in which they live, and in my work it is natural that I do express pieces of the culture of my country. I don’t have any particular stories to tell but I want to start painting all the images which impress me the most plus those images from my subconscious, and as they begin to appear on canvas, it become a story unfolding to tell itself.”
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