Acton residents are no strangers to the work of artist Chantel Bettencourt.
One of her murals graces the Bell box on Queen Street near McDonald’s. It's titled A Reminder of Us and serves as a tribute to someone important in the self-described family-oriented artist’s life.
“The painting is a memory of my father, so a memory of us. He passed away about 10 years ago this year. I used to go road-tripping when I was a kid and teenager with my parents,” Bettencourt explained, adding that the trees were inspired by Banff.
The theme of grief is resurrected in her latest Bell box mural called Dark Mahogany, located just a few minutes away on Churchill Road North, at the edge of the McKenzie-Smith Bennett School field. But in this case, the type of grief is different.
The piece is meant to allude to “the weird in-between feeling” of the month of November.
“It’s that chilly time. There is no Christmas and Halloween is done,” explained Bettencourt.
“All my pieces are more so grief pieces. I went through a lot of death in my 20s. So a lot of pieces are inspired by death and grief."
Within nine months of her father's passing, she lost two grandparents. In that era of her life, she also lost a brother-in-law and a cousin, giving a certain focus to her creations.
“Grief is there forever. It’s something that everyone resonates with.”
A Reminder of Us plays with a lot of greens, blues and browns to recreate, as said, the nature scene of Banff. Her latest mural also depicts a forest locale, but it differs from her first work in two key ways.
Dark Mahogany was inspired by the landscape of Muskoka, but she also notes that it's not meant to depict any one place. Red and white dominate the work and there are far fewer leaves on the trees.
As Bettencourt was creating her murals, locals would approach her to talk about them. She found that many of the people who stopped to examine her painting were often taken back to a distant memory, perhaps picking up on the intent behind the work.
Coming from a large family, Bettencourt's loved ones have added importance to her as they're one of the major reasons why she got into art. She jokes that she had to decide between “artist or equestrian rider” as a kid. But coming from a clan of creative types, she gravitated towards art. She remembers watching her aunt and uncle, who are graphic designers, and a different uncle who was an architect make their creations.
Bettencourt's home life was an environment of encouragement, giving her the emotional and physical push to take up the craft.
Throughout her life, she experimented with realistic styles, but more abstract concepts began appealing to her in recent times due to the creative freedom they provide.
She made art on and off throughout her youth, even going to Sheridan College to sharpen her skills.
After some time spent as a school photographer and later a financial advisor, the birth of her daughter and the pandemic pushed her to return to art. The rest is history.
Those interested in following Chantel Bettercourt’s work can visit her website and her Instagram @ChantelBettencourt.art.
