At 9:30 in the morning, things are relatively quiet on campus in the courtyard between the N and T building, all except for the sound of classic rock music by David Bowie and Bob Dylan.
The music is coming from Francois Pelletier, who says “it puts me in a happy zone.” Pelletier is a chalk artist, and has been one for 19 years. He is a self-taught artist and says he loves to draw faces and portraits.
He was hired to draw Algonquin’s logo with “Day 1” written underneath in order to promote the beginning of the school year. He is very much in love with his craft, as he free-hands the logo, he studies the lines he has drawn and with precision, and colours them in with green chalk.
“I want to make it look like a 3D painting, coming in at an angle that students can see when they walk by”, Pelletier explains.
Most of his work consists of busking and little gigs such as this one, but for such an artistic and time-consuming career, he doesn’t seem to mind when his work fades away: “by the time you’re done, the first parts you started doing are already fading away; it’s kind of an organic thing you’re always working on it, just keep it as good as you can…it’s more of the process and results that count.”
Pelletier’s artwork is located right at the doors of the patio to the cafeteria in the courtyard. However, if you want to see more of his artwork, he frequently busks in the ByWard Market in front of Sugar Mountain and in front of the Chapters on Rideau Street.