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SAIL
March 28, 2023
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The Canadian artist Édith Boucher is full of surprises. For more than fifteen years, the Témiscamingue native has been creating artistic designs that are often colourful and always impactful.
Now based in Montreal, the artist collaborated with Borealis to create a collection of illustrated t-shirts. The result is a series of unique and colourful designs that bring a sense of lightheartedness to any outdoor wardrobe and convey a deep love for nature. Here is a look into the universe and inspirations of artist Édith Boucher. Chances are, it will make you appreciate the collaborative capsule collection all the more.
In this article, you will discover the story behind the Édith Boucher and Borealis collaboration:
Édith Boucher counts among the Canadian illustrators who managed to carve their place on the artistic scene. Despite this, the artist is not one to seek the spotlight. It is her work, most of all, that does the talking.
A child of the eighties, Édith Boucher’s go-to themes include 90s culture, retro aesthetics and road trips. She masters many graphic styles and often collaborates with local brands and creators.
The Quebec artist also draws from her own experiences and memories to create, and she is deeply inspired by travelling and the people surrounding her. Every occasion she gets, Édith heads out on adventures. Her journeys have taken her across Quebec to roadside motels and enchanting camping spots in the wilderness.
This hiking and outdoor enthusiast confesses she often feels the need to disconnect, which is also essential to fuel her creation. Close to nature, she likes to wander in the forest and participate in various outdoor activities. It’s no wonder a collaboration with outdoor brand Borealis seemed to her like a natural fit.
Édith Boucher’s illustrations are joyful, light and full of colour, but the graphic designer is very organized when it comes to her work. Her clients, as she told us, truly stimulate her creativity. She is in turn very good at creating unique and tailor-made artwork that captures the essence of the brands, bands or people she collaborates with.
Édith’s creative designs are the result of a well-defined process that combines paper, tablet and computer colourization. This allows the designer to give life to her illustrations and have perfect control over the outcome.
That being said, Édith Boucher’s well-oiled routine imposes no limits on her creative process. In fact, she found some inspiration for the Borealis collaboration during a leisurely nature stay in Estrie; she rushed to her tablet and created two of the illustrations now featured in the capsule collection.
Édith Boucher jumped with both feet in the Borealis collaboration project, which she says reached out to an emotional and more personal part of her that she rarely uses in her creative work. A lovely way for the artistic designer to fully express her love of the great outdoors.
This collaboration also allows the Quebec illustrator to reach a wider audience, including outdoor enthusiasts. Her artistic designs can resonate with all and will certainly speak to men and women who put some thought into their choice of clothing.
For her creations, Édith started by defining general themes, which quickly brought back memories and turned into concrete ideas and visual elements. From there, the artist created each illustration one by one, some of which came to her fast and almost instinctively. Every design in this collaborative collection of men’s t-shirts and long-sleeved t-shirts was inspired by Édith Boucher’s personal experiences, travels and the people around her.
It is with great pleasure that SAIL and Borealis offer this beautiful, graphic and colourful capsule collection that is an ode to nature. Head online or to a SAIL store to find these unique and stylish items, created by an outdoor lover for fellow outdoor lovers.
For her collaboration with Borealis, Quebec artist Édith Boucher imagined and created six unique illustrations, all connected by a strong creative identity.
This illustration represents the artist’s own tent and lantern, two essential items that follow her on every camping trip she takes in the summer.
The Tent
Several Canadian illustrators feature wildlife in their art, and Édith Boucher is one of them. For this project, she chose the fox because she was inspired by the many creative possibilities it provides. Even though she loves playing around with popular clichés, Édith also wanted to steer clear of moose and other cervids as those are somewhat stereotypical representations of her native Témiscamingue that she sees all too often.
The Fox
The inspiration for this illustration came from a trip Édith took to Western Canada. Slightly different from the other artwork in the collection, this mountain scene came from the artist’s desire to represent a broader point of view rather than small graphic details. Her idea was to capture an atmosphere and communicate the emotions felt on her own excursion.
The Mountains
This is one of the first illustrations Édith Boucher created for Borealis. It represents her favourite Quebec road, the 132, which runs between mountains and sea as it connects the coves of Ste-Anne-des-Monts and Mont-Louis. It pays a nice tribute to the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie regions, which the artist visits every year.
The Road
Édith Boucher once again drew from her own inspirations and preferences to create this illustration. The artistic design represents the illustrator’s favourite vehicle: an old camper van. She admits dreaming of an orange one with a shaggy brown interior, amused by the fact that she is not the vanlifer with the most up-to-date taste.
The Old Camper Van
This long-sleeved t-shirt is the most personal for Édith Boucher. With it, the artist recalls fond childhood and family memories: berry picking, a mug at the cottage, the colourful Rapala lures in her father’s tackle box… and the fear of suddenly coming face to face with a bear!
The Memories
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