Brassard, France 1963–

Personal

Born 1963, in Quebec, Canada; children: Luke. Education: Studied interior design and graphic art.

Addresses

Home—Saint-Armand, Quebec, Canada. E-mail—fbrassard@aei.ca.

Career

Illustrator and portrait artist.

Member

Canadian Society of Miniature Painters and Gravers.

Illustrator

Carolyn Jackson, If I Had a Dog, Tundra Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2006.

Deborah Hodge, Lily and the Mixed-up Letters, Tundra (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2007.

Sidelights

A miniaturist who specializes in creating detailed watercolor images, Canadian artist France Brassard has been fascinated with the magical power of children's picture books since childhood. Although she studied interior design and graphic art during college, Brassard has since rekindled her early interest in illustration, particularly the miniature images in treasured books from her own library. Brassard, a resident of Quebec, has also been inspired by her own young son, Luke. Her book-length illustration projects include Deborah Hodge's Lily and the Mixed-up Letters and Carolyn Jackson's If I Had a Dog. Praised for her ability to depict young children, Brassard also creates custom small-scale watercolor portraits for individual clients.

Praising Brassard's detailed paintings for Lily and the Mixed-up Letters, School Library Journal contributor Linda L. Walkins wrote that the artist's "detailed watercolors infuse the story with genuine emotion that is somewhat lacking in the narrative." Brassard's art "tenderly show[s] Lily's every emotion as she struggles with learning to read," a Kirkus Reviews critic stated in reviewing the same book, the critic adding that Brassard's art surpasses Hodge's "rather shallow treatment of reading difficulties." Calling her illustrations for If I

Had a Dog the "strengths" of the picture book, Resource Links contributor Linda Berezowski added that Brassard "does a commendable job of infusing interest by varying the perspective, adding visual details and using an attractive palette. The factual tone of the book is reflected in the illustrations, which closely chronicle the storyline."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Canadian Book Review Annual, 2006, Janet Collins, review of If I Had a Dog, p. 450.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2007, review of Lily and the Mixed-up Letters.

Resource Links, April, 2006, Linda Berezowski, review of If I Had a Dog, p. 5.

School Library Journal, April, 2007, Linda L. Walkins, review of Lily and the Mixed-up Letters, p. 108.

ONLINE

Arts Quebec Web site,http://www.artsquebec.net/ (January 1, 2008), "France Brassard."