Jean Guay

Art Brokerage: Jean Guay French Canadian Artist: b. 1930-2005. Jean Guay, was born in Montreal, Canada. He settled in Southern California in 1959, hiking and backpacking the Sierra's from 1959 to 1977, logging 7,200 miles while photographing and sketching in these mountains. This was done to prepare for painting in oil as his primary medium. His move to Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, Nevada in 1977 provided a secure location for him to paint a variety of Lake Tahoe and Sierra scenes. Not much is known about his early life and after his passing, a proper funeral was never given as relations with family members were nonexistent. More than 20,000 photo slides of his adventures and some 400 paintings were created as a result of these trips. Clouds are hard to paint and Jean really knew his clouds. He knew the specific areas in the Sierras that had the specific clouds to their region; he really knew their nature. He would listen to classical music while he worked because it gave him inspiration. Many of Jean's paintings are called "Opus" paintings, referring to the symphony in the clouds, the deep feeling. Having never reproduced a work of art, he would price his pieces depending on how much emotion and time was dedicated to the particular painting. In 1996, a moonlight trek to the 14,495-foot summit of Mt. Whitney yielded dozens of photographs that Jean painted. In the last few years of Guay's life, he depended on his slides to continue his work because of his failing health. Jean Guay passed away in 2005. Listings wanted by Art Brokerage.