Jean David Boursiquot was born in Jacmel, Haiti on June
26, 1949. He is a soft-spoken man with a wonderful smile. As a child,
he was always fascinated with drawing and painting and his earliest pieces
are some sketches. In 1971, he moved to Port-au-Prince where he was encouraged
to follow his dream of being an artist by a friend and distant cousin,
Philton Latortue, who was himself an established Haitian artist. While
working as a cashier by day, Jean David began his career as an artist.
By 1972, he had an established relationship with the Centre d'Art and
sold his first painting.
Never having had any formal art training, Jean David considers himself
a "self taught" artist. Boursiquot's works are known for their bright
colors, lush vegetation and depiction of everyday life in rural Haitian
villages His work is full of bright reds, greens and pinks. Some of his
newer pieces have deep purples and blues. His canvases are covered with
children playing, young men strumming guitars, wedding scenes and forests
filled with lavishly colored trees. In many of his works you will find
stone bridges that he paints with incredible detail. His bold colors accentuate
his attention to detail, whether it is the leaves on the trees or the
stones on the bridges. He paints everyday Haitian scenes; landscapes,
country houses, people going to market, beaches, and weddings-whatever
else captures his imagination. We were fortunate to get a glimpse of a
new style that he is introducing. It is more geometric and less naif in
nature. Jean David says that he "paints from his head". "Whatever is in
my mind I begin to sketch and paint."
Jean David Boursiquot has become an internationally known artist who
has exhibited in USA, Canada, Europe and Mexico. He is an intense artist
who creates his paintings in his mind and spends hours transferring those
images to the canvas. Every painting is a reflection of a part of his
soul. It is very common for him to return to a canvas after months or
even years and add or change details in order to make it "perfect!" Jean is a very sensitive and warm artist who is quite emotionally attached
to every one of his pieces. His wonderful sense of humor is reflected
in all his works. Today, he lives with his wife Giselle, his childhood
sweetheart, in Connecticut. It was in his hometown of Jacmel that Jean
David met his wife, Gisele. Gisele is one of five sisters. She humorously
tells the story of the many hours he spent in her home and when he decided
to get married he pursued the oldest sister who wasn't available, so he
pursued the next in line who also wasn't available and then he pursued
her! Laughingly she says, "If I would have said no, he would have gone
after my younger sister!" They were married in 1979. The couple has two
children, Rubens and Gildade. Rubens was named after the French artist
who happens to be Jean's favorite artist. We are honored that we've had
the opportunity to visit with Jean and Giselle on many occasions and share
their exuberance for his work.
Jean David expresses his creativity not only in painting but in music
as well. He "tinkers" at the piano. Most of his painting is done between
5:00 am and 9:00 am. During the day he works as a home care aide. However,
his real love is his art. He believes that, "it is a gift from God. This
is my thing, nobody can take it away from me. I can never be fired!"
We are proud that Jean David Boursiquot has chosen to make us his exclusive representative on the internet.