ASF - From Matane with Soul

For Philippe Giroux, painting is a spiritual quest.

Philippe Giroux welcomes visitors to the vernissage of his exhibit in the hallowed halls of Atlantic salmon angling, the Matamajaw Salmon Club in Causapscal.

In 1980, Philippe Giroux, 21 years old, was living in poverty. Often, the loft’s fridge was empty. Other than salt, there wasn’t even much around, like ketchup perhaps, to add flavour to the macaroni.

Today, as I interview him, the artist sits comfortably in his apartment/studio in the village of Matane, surrounded by his art and the tools of his trade. His T-shirt bears the marks of his craft, traces of acrylic from a few misplaced brush strokes.

Study of salmon and dam

“I now have a much more peaceful life,” he says, looking at the walls covered with finished works. “I’m comfortable. I have a car, painting equipment, my fly-fishing rod and a camera. And I have my job. Today, my life revolves around that. I had a lot of fun when I was young; now I have more discipline.”

And he appreciates being able to paint what he likes. “For more than 25 years, to succeed, I had to accept everything that was offered to me, sometimes drawing, graphics, decorative painting, even Christmas decorations and occasionally murals, all interspersed with time out.”

He can now choose. The result? His portfolio reflects the happy life he leads in Matane today. The nature he loves to paint—clear, clean waters, rapids and waterfalls—surrounds him. A recent work, Un cigare et l’eau d’une rivière / A cigar and the water of a river captures on canvas “the golden hour,” that special moment that only happens on fair evenings when the landscape unfolds, ignited by the setting sun.

Many of his paintings exhibit a similar warmth and radiance that seems almost supernatural. Giroux struggles to explain what inspires this kind of ethereal result. “There is a spirit in these places that I try to capture,” he explains, searching for words. His English is like my French: good but not perfect. “I’m not a religious man, but spending time in the forest isn’t that different from being in a cathedral or a church … you can worship there. Nature has a soul, you know.”

Salmo Salar

There are beautiful, bright paintings in a realistic style depicting anglers casting. In some rivers the currents swirl and bubble; in others the water is calmer and clear, so the patterns formed by the smooth rocks of the riverbed occupy a central place. Other works include portraits of groups of friends posing in fishing gear, most likely commissions. Breaking with the theme of water and woods, he occasionally creates hyper-realistic, almost Warhol-like interpretations of celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix.

The Salmon Run

Perhaps those hint that the wildness of youth still lives on inside Giroux. Certainly, many of his canvases feature a different type of wildness—a depiction of a waterfall or close-up of a rapid—simple, subtle yet complex visions of the natural world.

“Adding a fisherman is not always necessary,” says Giroux. All salmon anglers will understand that it’s not just about the fish either.

It was only a decade or so ago that Giroux, despite still being relatively unknown, decided to leave the world of contract work. He began painting full time. Not surprisingly, money was scarce. He began to post some of his work on Facebook and was getting lots of nice comments, but clicks and shares didn’t pay the rent. Then Howard Gaber, a very keen salmon angler from Montauk, New York who owned a camp on the Matane, found his way onto Giroux’s page. It was a game changer.

Gaber loved what he saw and purchased a few paintings, which he hung in his cabin. He liked the paintings, of course, but as Gaber tells it, he also wanted to help Giroux. “When we first met, his fridge was almost empty, but he shared what he had with us.”

From these first interactions, they discovered that they shared common ground. Just as Giroux had lived unconventionally during the tumultuous 70s and 80s in Quebec, Howard was a hippie who had taught himself silversmithing and sold handmade jewelry. He was in Woodstock and lived there after the famous concert.

A peaceful angler

A great friendship developed between the two. They began fishing together. Giroux suggested the Bridge Pool, the first on the river in the heart of downtown Matane. Later, Gaber took Giroux to places upriver that he couldn’t reach alone because the artist didn’t have a car. Gaber remembers one day; they were at a pool in the reserved section. He had finished fishing and sat on the bank, enjoying the sunset. He noticed a fish roll and told Giroux to try another pass. A salmon took the artist’s fly, and the two friends walked away with a memory neither will ever forget.

Gaber has fished all over the world. He was in Russia in the very early days of the development of the Kharlovka River as a fishing destination. He has many incredible stories to tell, but what he likes to talk about most is fishing, and dining, with Giroux. Like the time he invited the Matane artist down to his home in Montauk to shore cast for bluefish. It was an eye-opener for Giroux, who wasn’t used to landing fish after giant fish. He also accompanied Gaber to Barbados to cast for bonefish. And, of course, these experiences are also reflected in some of his recent work.

Already lost

This friendship with Gaber and his wife, Anneka, helped inspire his career as a painter. A sentence uttered by Gaber will always remain engraved in Giroux’s memory: “You have the power to make money.” Since then, Giroux has not stopped working.

It helps that the result of Giroux’s vocation, his murals and paintings, are hard to miss. “I left my mark everywhere in this region,” he says. Some projects are quite large, like a piece he completed at the Matane Hospital. As always, nature played a leading role in the mural, and patients can now find the same comfort and spirituality that Giroux discovered in his natural cathedral without leaving the hospital.

In recent years, the rewards have multiplied for Philippe Giroux. More than 50 awards, most of which are international, adorn his career. An academic officer within the Mondial Art Academia, a global organization based in Europe, he participates each year in its prestigious competition, the International Prize for Art Professionals. He was a gold medalist in 2020, a double gold medalist in 2022 and a silver medalist in 2023. The awards further motivate Giroux to find new ways to express his talents. A few art magazines have published his work in recent years and his paintings feature prominently in America’s Favorite Flies, a book by John Bryan and Rob Carter (self-published, 2017).

Just before it takes, it doesn't take

And perhaps for Atlantic salmon anglers, the most significant milestone in Philippe Giroux’s career is the exhibit at the museum that is now housed in the Matamajaw Fishing Heritage Site. There, where the Matapédia meets the Causapscal River at “the Forks,” certainly one of the world’s most historic salmon pools, the Matane artist was invited to display his work this past summer.

“For me, the exhibition at the Matamajaw Fishing Heritage Site is a wonderful opportunity to present my works to the local population, to tourists and especially to salmon anglers,” Giroux says. “The site is historic and magnificent. I feel at home there, in my world.”

The future of that world is definitely looking bright for this talented, fun-loving and friendly artist. But it’s not just fishing trips and dinners with friends. With all the work he’s been offered—the latest, a commission to create a giant mural overlooking his own home Bridge Pool in downtown Matane—it’s unlikely he’ll have time to make it to Montauk to fish with Gaber this summer.

A small price to pay, perhaps, but living in Matane, he is never far from the streams and rivers that have brought so much peace and happiness. And, of course, the bluefish will also be running down in Montauk in the fall.

What a wonderful world

Martin Silverstone is editor of the Atlantic Salmon Journal. To see more of Philippe Giroux’s work, visit his instagram.