Giselle Denis is a Performance Painter Engaging People in the Process of Her Work

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's Podcast, the number one podcast for entrepreneurs by
[00:06] SPEAKER_00: entrepreneurs. Hello and welcome to Edminton's Podcast on Canada's Podcast
[00:12] SPEAKER_00: Network on your host Mario Tonoguzzi. Joining me today is Giselle Dini who is a
[00:18] SPEAKER_00: performance painter at the Fairmont Hotel McDonald in Edmonton and at the
[00:23] SPEAKER_00: Rapples Hotel in Dubai. Thanks for joining us today Giselle. Thank you for
[00:28] SPEAKER_00: having me. Okay, tell me what is a performance painter? Yes well I developed a
[00:35] SPEAKER_01: style of painting over the years mostly just when I would showcase my work
[00:40] SPEAKER_01: publicly standing around, twittling my thumbs while people looked at the paintings
[00:44] SPEAKER_01: and answered questions. I thought why don't I add an element of interest to my
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: space to not only look at the art but watch it be created. So my process was
[00:55] SPEAKER_01: already fairly quick when I make a painting it's like I get a conversation with
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: the painting so think of it as you're having coffee with a friend and it's
[01:04] SPEAKER_01: you know hour and half two hours. I like to create a whole painting in one
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: session regardless of how big it is. I like to have this sort of round off the
[01:13] SPEAKER_01: edges and finish it in one session. So I had been doing that for a while already
[01:18] SPEAKER_01: naturally. My process being fairly quick and I discovered
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: or I was discovered from the Fairmont Hotel to showcase my work in the hotel and so I
[01:30] SPEAKER_01: proposed to be their live painter turned into that about a year after I proposed it to them.
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: And so when I create my paintings it means from start to finish I'll work on like a five-foot
[01:41] SPEAKER_01: wide canvas. You'll see the whole painting come to life over dinner basically and so it kind
[01:47] SPEAKER_01: of gives you an interesting element to your evening of someone best describe it as it's quiet
[01:53] SPEAKER_01: yet it's progressive. I was just wondering where are the paintings done then? So I perform at
[02:00] SPEAKER_01: the hotels generally in the lounge. When I go to Dubai I paint in their huge lobby and so it's kind
[02:06] SPEAKER_01: of like a place where people can sit out wherever I am they're sitting down and they're watching
[02:11] SPEAKER_01: but they're still having conversation. They can watch the progression of the painting being
[02:15] SPEAKER_01: created and I've been getting a lot of really amazing responses from from live painting.
[02:21] SPEAKER_00: So now I see in your background their paintings which I assume they're yours, right?
[02:28] SPEAKER_00: How would you describe what your painting style is and the subject material that you do?
[02:33] SPEAKER_01: Well I've chosen all nature-based work but I like to tell stories while I'm creating the pieces so
[02:41] SPEAKER_01: it's not just about forests and flowers and mountains and it's not just about what you're seeing but
[02:46] SPEAKER_01: it's about the story behind what you're seeing. So I use that opportunity in sort of the names of
[02:54] SPEAKER_01: my work and when I'm posting now with the ability online that we have it so accessible.
[02:59] SPEAKER_01: I tell the story that goes along with the title of the painting and so it helps people even connect
[03:03] SPEAKER_01: to it even more so whether they were with me watching the process from start to finish on site
[03:10] SPEAKER_01: with me or if they're reading about it afterwards they're connecting to the painting on a deeper level.
[03:15] SPEAKER_01: Okay so when did you start doing this? I started, well I started painting a long time ago. I was
[03:23] SPEAKER_01: a teenager of course I started quite young. I think I made my first sale when I was about 13, 14
[03:29] SPEAKER_01: years old. My mother taught me realism so I really kind of got into like the real elements of
[03:35] SPEAKER_01: the fundamentals of drawing and then as I got serious about art fast forward to what I got married
[03:42] SPEAKER_01: this has been 17 years now like a full-time career. I didn't make a respectable adult income
[03:47] SPEAKER_01: until about 10 years into what I was doing but it took some time and patience but most of all
[03:55] SPEAKER_01: here's my other cat love for painting is what's kept me moving forward. So I've been my painting at
[04:02] SPEAKER_01: the Fairmont and Edmonton for six and a half years and I've been painting in Dubai now for
[04:08] SPEAKER_01: four years. Like oh there every winter for about a month. So I'm curious how how did that Dubai gig
[04:17] SPEAKER_01: I come about? Yeah so because of the Fairmont connection here I had painted it another
[04:23] SPEAKER_01: of Fairmont's mostly western Canada here and one of our staff moved to Dubai and became the
[04:29] SPEAKER_01: supervisor of operations. So of course you know right so he connected me to everyone there and they
[04:35] SPEAKER_01: invited me within six months. I ended up in Dubai I go with my family so generally this time of
[04:41] SPEAKER_01: year probably mid-February to mid-March. I'll go to Dubai for the month live at the hotel paid for
[04:46] SPEAKER_01: the guests for about a month. Incidentally this last year I came home March 24th we almost got stuck
[04:53] SPEAKER_01: there for four extra months. So a little miracle happened and we got home safely but yeah it was
[04:59] SPEAKER_01: a little sketchy last year but still really enjoyable and nothing like the Middle East. I tell you.
[05:05] SPEAKER_00: Well I can imagine what was your I'm just curious because I've heard a lot of stories about Dubai.
[05:10] SPEAKER_01: What was your first impression when you were there? Well of course the weather. You know it's just
[05:16] SPEAKER_01: opposite. If it's minus 30 here it's plus 30 there. I was actually really surprised of how I was
[05:24] SPEAKER_01: embraced by the culture. I was a little nervous. You know just this girl from Canada going I
[05:31] SPEAKER_01: had I knew nothing of the Middle East but I was really I received such a positive response
[05:37] SPEAKER_01: live painting like everybody from every culture. It's a stopover city a travel city mainly so I was
[05:42] SPEAKER_01: meeting people not only locals but people from around the world and it's been such an interesting
[05:47] SPEAKER_01: opportunity to open up the door of communication with strangers who I may not have been able to
[05:53] SPEAKER_01: speak with but because the live painting kind of breaks the ice for our conversation with
[05:59] SPEAKER_01: anybody and so it was really it was really exciting to see the positive response. The way people
[06:06] SPEAKER_01: opened up I had you know conversations with every age group, every cultural group, every religious
[06:12] SPEAKER_00: group. It was really really really cool. Now you know when I first came across you right? I yeah I don't
[06:21] SPEAKER_00: think I've ever heard of a live painter or performance painter anywhere like are there others
[06:28] SPEAKER_01: like you out there? Yeah so I was actually inspired by fellow here in Edmonton his name is Louis
[06:36] SPEAKER_01: LaValle. He was painting at a charity function and I was attending and I had already been a painter
[06:42] SPEAKER_01: and I turned to my husband and I was just like fascinated by watching this man perform and we paint
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: very different type of style but the fact that he could do that and I turned to my husband and
[06:52] SPEAKER_01: I don't even know what came up came over me but I said I want to do that and so it's kind of
[06:57] SPEAKER_01: cool to hear the next year at the same event the organizer said you know Louis can't do it this
[07:03] SPEAKER_01: year I was wondering if you want to maybe paint an art event and get free from you right out but I
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: was able to do it for him and then I did it for a number of different charities before I was
[07:17] SPEAKER_01: it's neat how just different opportunities come up like I was painting for little warriors
[07:22] SPEAKER_01: charity probably heard of little warriors Canada and I painted for their charity event and my
[07:27] SPEAKER_01: painting raised $50,000 so I get to paint a charity that's people are bidding on the painting
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: or a generous people again and a big function you know a couple thousand people and they're bidding
[07:39] SPEAKER_01: high amounts on these paintings so I decided to start trying to raise a million dollars for charity
[07:44] SPEAKER_01: so that happened in 2014 and since then I've been able to help raise with my art nearly $700,000
[07:52] SPEAKER_01: painting live for you know charities which has been another excellent fun thing to do so
[07:59] SPEAKER_01: yeah I don't know a lot of artists who are prepared to share their process publicly you know the
[08:05] SPEAKER_01: studio experience is quite private and not and so but it's never kind of it's never bothered me to
[08:14] SPEAKER_01: sort of perform I'd like to sing and stuff too so being on a sort of stage I quite like
[08:20] SPEAKER_01: that side of it and I don't seem to get nervous that much when I'm performing the painting so
[08:27] SPEAKER_01: you can just be yourself and then you just need people from all over it's funny because as you
[08:34] SPEAKER_00: were talking I was thinking also about you know some people thrive on the audience right whether
[08:40] SPEAKER_00: they're an athlete or an actor maybe you know a live performance in theater etc you know you kind
[08:47] SPEAKER_00: of get in the zone with the adrenaline because you've got people watching and that's part of it
[08:52] SPEAKER_00: but then there's other creative aspects of things that I kind of think this is kind of a little
[08:59] SPEAKER_00: weird isn't it like I can't imagine I'm a writer right I can't imagine dude you know writing away
[09:05] SPEAKER_00: of my stories and journalism and having people watching me do in this right that'd be really to
[09:11] SPEAKER_01: see someone write and then you have your words up on a screen and people can see how you're like
[09:15] SPEAKER_01: re-roading things and I'd be happy about watching that so how was it like the very first time
[09:21] SPEAKER_00: you did that and as you said yeah as you said it was it's you know you're it's a mostly an in-studio
[09:29] SPEAKER_00: thing that you do on your own in private etc but the to first time to have it publicly out there
[09:36] SPEAKER_00: people like watching exactly what you're doing what was that like well it was kind of nice because
[09:42] SPEAKER_01: I was kind of I was in the room with everyone and I was kind of part of the reception so as people
[09:47] SPEAKER_01: are kind of coming in so at first you see you know three or four people and then 50 to 20 people
[09:51] SPEAKER_01: and then you know it turn around there's 50 people so it was kind of like a nice slow introduction
[09:56] SPEAKER_01: to like what's this gonna feel like and it was definitely a little nerve-wracking to begin with but
[10:03] SPEAKER_01: I felt quite comfortable because I thought okay I talked myself down and said
[10:08] SPEAKER_01: but you were invited to come here and do this they asked you to be here I know what I'm doing I
[10:14] SPEAKER_01: can paint I'm a good painter I know how to do this so you know what can go wrong so I have had some
[10:22] SPEAKER_01: mishaps like you know live painting on TV and my easel hardware fell apart and my entire like
[10:27] SPEAKER_01: display just crashed to the floor a minute and a half before going live you know things happen
[10:32] SPEAKER_01: the other time I was painting live on Facebook so I've taken my live painting to live streaming
[10:38] SPEAKER_01: these days well cool and just because of everything being closed and you know my cats don't
[10:43] SPEAKER_01: think to my palate and like run across the room with paint on there and it's just things happen
[10:48] SPEAKER_01: but you just kind of have to go people really kind of love the authenticness of you know and
[10:55] SPEAKER_01: went back to when I was painting it publicly like one of the things that I love so much is the
[11:01] SPEAKER_01: painting seem to be a lot about people and the stories behind meeting different people I met some
[11:06] SPEAKER_01: famous people I have to tell you this one cool story do you have time for a cool story? Oh yeah
[11:10] SPEAKER_01: for sure yeah I was painting at the Fairmont and that's where a lot of famous people come and stay
[11:14] SPEAKER_01: when they come and perform in the city but I don't really usually know who's coming and I don't
[11:19] SPEAKER_01: pay that much attention to pop culture so anyway I'm painting I'm doing my thing and this man comes
[11:25] SPEAKER_01: and talks to me for like probably close to an hour he's kind of in and out he goes to get a drink
[11:29] SPEAKER_01: he comes back and we're talked about music he talked about art he told me how he placed the drums
[11:35] SPEAKER_01: and he paints and we had a lovely talk I had no idea and then I finally said so what brings you
[11:42] SPEAKER_01: to Edmonton oh well I'm I'm a musician I said well yes but like who do you play for you're
[11:48] SPEAKER_01: where are you playing you said I'm playing at Roger's place that's our huge stadium I said oh wow
[11:54] SPEAKER_01: okay cool who do you play for he said oh I'm a drummer for deaf leopard oh my
[11:59] SPEAKER_01: so Rick Allen Rick Allen is the drummer so and I would never have known I don't I know who the
[12:05] SPEAKER_01: band is but I wouldn't know but we had a lovely talk he you know was very comfortable talking with
[12:11] SPEAKER_01: me I'm sure he's got cords of people who would just like you know paparazzi and the fact so I
[12:18] SPEAKER_01: meet people like that I've met the whole band the cult I've probably met a lot more famous people
[12:23] SPEAKER_01: that I don't even know because I'm in the middle of painting and I'm not really paying that much
[12:28] SPEAKER_01: attention to I'm not being nervous about anything because I'm kind of baking to talk to me so
[12:34] SPEAKER_01: it's that that person really need to you know people come up to me and say do you know
[12:39] SPEAKER_01: you were talking to like no who is that and he's telling after I'm curious although he wasn't born
[12:47] SPEAKER_00: and that we didn't but he's known for Edmund Ted I'm just curious the most probably the most famous
[12:52] SPEAKER_00: Edmund Tullian out there was Wayne Gretzky so do you ever meet him no I haven't met Wayne Gretzky I
[12:57] SPEAKER_01: have met some of the oilers I had to paint on TV for an event for the oilers and mostly the wives
[13:04] SPEAKER_01: were there and they were having dinner and so I got to kind of meet the image of oilers wives I met
[13:09] SPEAKER_01: some of the oilers I came and tell you which ones I'm sorry sorry I'm just an oiler
[13:15] SPEAKER_01: but yeah it's it's just interesting the way it's kind of broken down the barrier of the stranger
[13:21] SPEAKER_01: barrier right and like nervous barrier it's like here's an opportunity to talk to this person
[13:26] SPEAKER_01: who's doing this thing right now and and everyone asks me questions and wants to talk to me I've
[13:30] SPEAKER_01: met some really famous people in Dubai that I wouldn't know who they are but they hang out at the
[13:35] SPEAKER_01: fancy hotel if you google the rapids hotel and Dubai it's crazy beautiful and the staff will
[13:41] SPEAKER_01: run across through humans do that thing like do you know what you were talking to that was the
[13:45] SPEAKER_01: prince of blah blah blah and I'm like oh wow no I had no idea I loved I loved your comment about
[13:51] SPEAKER_00: the authentic thing and you know and we were just doing it right now you know you're two cats showed
[13:57] SPEAKER_00: up yeah exactly so I'm curious from a business perspective do you see like a potential in doing
[14:07] SPEAKER_00: this in other areas like you know like you know I've got thought about that expanding that I
[14:13] SPEAKER_00: don't know in a shopping center for instance you know stuff like that West Edmunds mom 100% I've
[14:19] SPEAKER_01: painted a lot of cool places yeah it's all about kind of who you know and who invites you and
[14:25] SPEAKER_01: and I've sent out proposals for things and stuff too but unless they've seen me in action and met me
[14:31] SPEAKER_01: and know me it's kind of hard to cold call like propose what I do because not a lot of people do what I
[14:37] SPEAKER_01: do and they kind of misinterpret it and go oh like what do you want to come in here and face paint like
[14:41] SPEAKER_01: no so it's yeah like I'm just kind of I keep putting myself out there and amazing opportunities come
[14:49] SPEAKER_01: my way because it's my job to put myself in front of people at all times so that's why when COVID hit
[14:56] SPEAKER_01: I thought well the hotels are shut down so I'm gonna go live on Facebook now and I'll have like
[15:01] SPEAKER_01: some of my Facebook lives will reach like 20,000 people and it's just like oh it's crazy what you
[15:07] SPEAKER_01: can do with social media right now so yes of course I would absolutely love to when travel opens
[15:13] SPEAKER_01: up again do more of that paint I've painted for a really cool bag I got to paint on a $100,000
[15:19] SPEAKER_01: Lexus for this big design show so my job was to literally paint this white car with flowers on both sides
[15:25] SPEAKER_01: of it with a crowd of like 2000 people there and the media is there and it was like so stressful like
[15:31] SPEAKER_01: I had to finish and it's not something you can practice right it's like okay I remember driving to
[15:37] SPEAKER_01: that event going oh wow I don't know what I'm doing but then I thought I get no they asked me to come
[15:44] SPEAKER_01: they know that I can do this I know I can do this I'm a great painter let's do it and what's the
[15:50] SPEAKER_00: worst that can happen so tell me you know obviously you know your talent is on that creative side of
[15:58] SPEAKER_00: things how do you do the business side of what you do like is that a challenge because
[16:07] SPEAKER_00: because you know you're that one side of the brain is you know functioning all the time and the
[16:12] SPEAKER_00: creativity and what you do and so maybe explain a little bit about that how you kind of juggle both
[16:18] SPEAKER_01: sure well yeah it's definitely a challenge it took me some time of figuring out okay you know
[16:24] SPEAKER_01: because I've only I have only ever been the one who selves might work I have had little tiny
[16:31] SPEAKER_01: mom and pop galleries kind of over the years that generally not no galleries have been
[16:36] SPEAKER_01: and you help in any way in that regard for me so I thought well if they're not going to sell my
[16:41] SPEAKER_01: art I'm going to figure this out on my own and so I just got comfortable putting myself out there
[16:46] SPEAKER_01: at any kind of art show I could possibly do talk about my work get comfortable only by practice over
[16:52] SPEAKER_01: and over and over again yeah talk about my art how to talk about a price how to you know be consistent
[16:59] SPEAKER_01: with prices how to slowly raise your prices every year and how to make the sale so I've read tons
[17:05] SPEAKER_01: of books on making the sale of books on conversation um marketing on sales like I I'm kind of a book
[17:12] SPEAKER_01: nerd and a business nerd actually too so I quite enjoy that side of things I mean if would I
[17:17] SPEAKER_01: prefer someone else to like actually do the sale do the transaction of course but um I've learned
[17:22] SPEAKER_01: to just kind of go you know what if do I want the painting they'll buy it if not that's fine like
[17:28] SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna pay anyways it doesn't you know bother me if it took me like I said to good 10 years
[17:35] SPEAKER_01: to build to the point where I could say okay I'm making a respectable income now as an adult
[17:40] SPEAKER_01: but I still I generally always have around 200 paintings for sale at all times and I just I paint
[17:46] SPEAKER_01: 450 plus paintings a year and I paint whether I have a sale or not whether I have a customer or not
[17:52] SPEAKER_01: I have a lot of customers now and all those years of putting myself out there and constantly um
[17:59] SPEAKER_01: showcasing and you know putting it out in front of people has definitely paid off and I'm hoping that
[18:05] SPEAKER_01: it opens more doors and it generates more sales and kind of folks like you who say hey that's
[18:10] SPEAKER_01: interesting let's have around a podcast you know it's one more way of letting people know who I am
[18:15] SPEAKER_01: and what I do and my vision and all the layers of things that um of the things that I put out there
[18:21] SPEAKER_01: so thank you I mean it's been it's been a challenge it's been exciting it's been like you know
[18:27] SPEAKER_01: heartbreaking at some points you know when you're not selling yeah but um I'm selling more now
[18:33] SPEAKER_01: than I ever have but that's just taken me years to build the thing and I hope I hope that it
[18:38] SPEAKER_01: only continues that way but I treat every single sale as like so grateful for every penny I make
[18:46] SPEAKER_01: as an artist and um yeah like I'm filled with super grateful and I like I said I'm painting
[18:53] SPEAKER_00: whether I have a sale or not well that was great I appreciate you joining us today Jizelle
[18:59] SPEAKER_00: yeah my pleasure thanks for having me Mario okay that was Jizelle Denny who was a performance painter
[19:06] SPEAKER_00: at the Fairmont Hotel McDonald in Edmonton and at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai this has been Edmonton's
[19:14] SPEAKER_00: podcast on Canada's podcast network I'm your host Mario Tonibusi thanks for joining us today