ROLAND PALMAERTS SCA, IAF

Signature Member of the Société Canadienne de l’Aquarelle

Honorary Member of the Institut des Arts Figuratifs

Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1953, Roland Palmaerts comes from a family of painters. He won First prize in the National Competition « Tintin» at the age of six. Roland Palmaerts studied at The Athenaeum, at the Institut Saint-Luc and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, where he won First prize in drawing and watercolour. In 1972, the artist engages in the Belgian armed forces as a para-commando. Roland Palmaerts moved to Canada in 1980 where he first worked as a designer and illustrator with major advertising agencies. But he also painted and the success of his art exhibitions lead him to devote himself exclusively to painting and teaching workshops. In 1990, a book of 120 pages about his works is published by Editions De Mortagne : « Palmaerts, l’homme, l’artiste ». Ulysse Publications published his instructional book in 2009 " Le monde de la couleur ». For his 60 years Birthday, this Master of Watercolor has made a Guinness World Record in Arches in France in October 2013 : 60 watercolors in 60 hours without interruption !

Roland Palmaerts has over two hundred exhibitions to his credit, mainly in Canada and Europe. He was part of more than 125 television programs and has designed and marketed several artistic products including two instructional videotapes translated into four languages. Roland Palmaerts is also a member of the European Institute of Watercolour (IEA) and was president of the Institut des Arts Figuratifs (IAF) from 1990 to 1997. In 2008, the Mazarine Academy awarded him the Medal of Merit and Dedication to the Arts. He also won the First prize, category Acrylic, in Salon de la Figuration 2000 at Musée Laurier in Canada; the Silver Medal of the Creators of the Century, in Arles, France. "Twenty years of watercolor were needed to control the speed, shapes, transparency, light and some truths that I want to share. " Symbolic meanings transposed in his works allow he artist to continue and confirm his philosophy. Palmaerts tells us: "As an artist , I try first to make the invisible into visible. I hope that this way, we hear music and paintings." He is represented by several art galleries in Canada and his works are collected in many countries.

La Rochelle, watercolor