<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Jeannette Sirois ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Passionate colored pencil artist crafting stunning large portraits and botanicals. Dedicated to teaching, sharing, & building a vibrant art community.]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 17:08:04 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.jeannettesirois.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[When the Work Leaves the Studio: Thank You, Cowichan Public Art Gallery]]></title><description><![CDATA[Bearing Witness , my current solo exhibition, is on view at the Cowichan Public Art Gallery from November 28, 2025 to February 28, 2026 , and I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the people and the work behind this exhibition. Cowichan Public Art Gallery is a volunteer-driven public art gallery  serving the Cowichan region, located on Vancouver Island, BC. Exhibitions like this do not happen through a single gesture or task. They are built through sustained attention,...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/when-the-work-leaves-the-studio-thank-you-cowichan-public-art-gallery</link><guid isPermaLink="false">695593817fd864ff7fe2151c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:34:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_406d664a0f274eb882754f3590655f3e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_600,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Need to Make This Work: When a System Doesn’t See You, It Shapes Your Entire Life]]></title><description><![CDATA[I keep coming back to one fact because it says everything about the world I live in. Although Canada recorded sex- or gender-motivated hate crimes before 2021, transgender and gender-diverse targets were largely absorbed into an ‘other sex or gender’ category. It was not until October 2021 that national police reporting expanded to explicitly code transgender and non-binary targets, making these forms of hate statistically legible as distinct phenomena (Statistics Canada - Hate Crimes In...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/why-i-need-to-make-this-work-when-a-system-doesn-t-see-you-it-shapes-your-entire-life</link><guid isPermaLink="false">693a76f3703ccd4ddd0a6118</guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 08:44:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_e54cc5afb65546bdaaf97bcd0a2f9c2e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When the Format Fails: How I Slowly Found the Real Idea Behind My Work]]></title><description><![CDATA[For years I believed my portrait work was about the queer body itself. I thought the drawings were centered on presence, absence, erasure, or the familiar narratives of exclusion: not allowed, not recognized, not at the table. But every time I tried to frame my work that way, something felt off. Too familiar. Too rehearsed. Too close to the language so many artists have done. The truth came into focus only when I started asking a different question.What if my work isn’t about the body?What if...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/when-the-format-fails-how-i-slowly-found-the-real-idea-behind-my-work</link><guid isPermaLink="false">693111439b06fc064bdb653a</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:12:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_e64b1396de864e7688bd8463eff9566b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Counter-Legibility: Rethinking How We’re Asked to Appear]]></title><description><![CDATA[Conversations about legibility often drift toward theory, but for queer people it begins somewhere far more ordinary. It begins in the small, daily adjustments we make before we step out the door. Recently I was talking with my spouse about clothes we wanted to wear—ties, sharper lines, bolder queer jewellery—and the hesitation appeared almost immediately. Not because we questioned our choices, but because we worried the world wouldn’t know how to read us. That hesitation, that tiny pause, is...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/counter-legibility-rethinking-how-we-re-asked-to-appear</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69389725122b31d338b512b1</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2025 21:47:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_ed08fc8b5fd5416bad1b6e0675f10c9a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Spectral Bodies: Fragments from a Journey]]></title><description><![CDATA[Justin Ogilvie — Selected Works, 2015–2025 Cowichan Public Art Gallery, Duncan, BC, September 5 - November 15, 2025 “Artwork by Justin Ogilvie, photo by Jeannette Sirois, courtesy of Cowichan Public Art Gallery” A few weeks ago, I visited Spectral Bodies: Fragments from a Journey  at the Cowichan Public Art Gallery, a solo exhibition of selected works by Vancouver-based painter Justin Ogilvie. The show spans a decade of practice, bringing together paintings created between 2015 and 2025 that...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/spectral-bodies-fragments-from-a-journey</link><guid isPermaLink="false">690109083f9731ce0f874175</guid><pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 2025 05:32:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_c4061761c7ee49a0913e908d78da1cdc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bearing Witness: A 2SLGBTQ+ Visibility Project-Solo Exhibition]]></title><description><![CDATA[Cowichan Public Art Gallery November 28, 2025 – February 28, 2026 Opening Reception: November 27, 7–9 PM Artist Talk: January 17, 1–2 PM This winter, the Cowichan Public Art Gallery will present Bearing Witness: A 2SLGBTQ+ Visibility Project , a solo exhibition of my recent drawings exploring identity, memory, and the ongoing fight for representation. The show brings together works from three interconnected series- At the Table , Mortal Coil , and Bad Hair Day  each examining how portraiture...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/bearing-witness-a-2slgbtq-visibility-project-solo-exhibition</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6901390adb647af5d94a2c28</guid><pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2025 22:12:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_4d42cd273fdf4bccab2d759dd73c7460~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_252,h_327,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reclaiming History: Why I Borrow From the Language of Power]]></title><description><![CDATA[Studio Conversations: When I began At the Table (formerly On the Table), I kept circling this question: Who gets a seat? Historically,...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/reclaiming-history-why-i-borrow-from-the-language-of-power</link><guid isPermaLink="false">687dfc66952457367664e766</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2025 08:47:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_e8406d53f9a440cfbf60b7328b96282f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperrealism as Contemporary Voice: Refocusing my Practice]]></title><description><![CDATA[Studio Conversations: July 2025 Reflections on Being a Hyper-Realist Artist Have you ever found yourself searching for the definition of...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/why-i-draw-in-colour-and-why-i-use-coloured-pencils-to-do-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67c1abd6b8d772e41f6e6cda</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2025 05:23:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_deb29dc1ae8a429e836249ad189df6d9~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Monochrome Matters in My Drawing Practice]]></title><description><![CDATA[What Do You See When the Colour’s Gone? An Analytical Study on Monochromatic Drawing and the Intrinsic Expression of Black and White As...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/why-monochrome-matters-in-my-drawing-practice</link><guid isPermaLink="false">684a897bc56add0981903f75</guid><pubDate>Sun, 29 Jun 2025 06:57:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_d5a8e51b00ec4341a81615a4706abe6e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Grant News: Fuel for the Work Ahead]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’ve just received my second Catalyst Grant from the Salt Spring National Art Prize SSNAP and The Wilding Foundation—and I wanted to take...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/grant-news-fuel-for-the-work-ahead</link><guid isPermaLink="false">683e08ab35b10f92161b7ea9</guid><pubDate>Mon, 02 Jun 2025 20:35:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_e8406d53f9a440cfbf60b7328b96282f~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Art of Seeing: How Observational Drawing Turns Shapes into Form]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Art of Observational Drawing: How to Truly See Understanding Observational Drawing When people say “you’re so talented,” I sometimes...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/the-art-of-seeing-how-observational-drawing-turns-shapes-into-form</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68316ffbfc4bc32098380431</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2025 03:37:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_76573a5f800747b3b5aca3ef30a92d49~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Secrets Revealed: How to Prepare for a Curator's Visit and Successfully Launch a Solo Exhibition]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Jeannette Sirois In the world of visual art, recognition often comes unexpectedly—but when it does, it can change everything. ...]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/secrets-revealed-how-to-prepare-for-a-curator-s-visit-and-successfully-launch-a-solo-exhibition</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67e3fabb3d46d56511d01272</guid><pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2025 03:20:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_46bf50f6774746079ef809b376123e12~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[An Artists Journey: Overcoming Chronic Illness as an Artist]]></title><description><![CDATA[Art and mindfulness became my lifelines after chronic illness turned my world upside down. Here’s how I found light in the darkness. ]]></description><link>https://www.jeannettesirois.com/post/finding-light-through-pain-overcoming-chronic-illness-as-an-artist</link><guid isPermaLink="false">679b06f2004b6147939dd653</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b219a2_6dc618c8a26f4a83b1343d5e82c3d0dc~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jeannettesirois</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>