##105 The Humpback Bridge, Artist S.J. Boutilier

Susan Jean Boutilier (Jean) 1937-2018

The Humpback Bridge

Acrylic on canvas

16"H X 20"W Unframed

Jean was born and raised in Toronto along with her six siblings. She graduated from the Shaw  Business School and started working for the Bank of Commerce. When she married in 1955, she  decided to leave the working world and became a stay at home Mom and raised four children  with her husband in Willowdale. She was always very crafty with her sewing. She made clothes  for her children and she also created hand crafted dolls and hats that were sold all over the world.  When her husband Les retired from firefighting after a 32 year long career, they retired to the Madoc,  Ontario area in 1986.  

For a few years, Jean entered her quilt making and baking into the Fall County Fair and won  several “First Prize” awards. When her interests turned to painting, she studied Tole Painting and Decorative Art with local Artist, Doreen Howard, from 1990 through to 1994. Having enjoyed  the acrylic medium for a number of years, and receiving a certificate for teaching from Loyalist  College, she extended her scope to oil painting. Studying with Dorothy Dent and other well  known painters, she honed her skills and eventually started teaching at her home, sharing her  love of art with many dear friends and local artists. 

Over the years, Jean was often commissioned to paint five foot wide saw blades, various pieces  of furniture and beautiful scenic pictures that people had taken and Jean would then paint them  and reproduce the scenes.

The family of the late Jean Boutilier donated many of her paintings to help the Madoc Community.