Born in 1961 in Saint-Michel de Bellechasse, Raynald Leclerc grew up on the banks of the St. Lawrence River and drew from an early age. In his twenties, studies in architecture led him to discover his love for art and encouraged him to learn painting as a self-taught artist.
Working the oil with a spatula, he always paints onsite, thus faithfully capturing the variations of light according to the seasons. Raynald paints mainly landscapes of Quebec, but he does not hesitate to travel to discover other horizons and sources of inspiration.
Raynald Leclerc's work constantly evolves during his artistic career. In the early 1980s, the painter Christian Bergeron was a first influence in introducing him to knife painting Francesco Iacurto also influenced his early years for the importance of contrasts and the liveliness of the colours.
He then became interested in the Impressionists and had a particular interest in claude Monet's work. In 2010, he created a series of paintings entitled " l’île d’Orléans " and thus laid down some principles that can be found in his work at that time. The painter no longer observes objects and their forms, but instead focuses on the play of light on them.
From 2011, his interest was focused on Tracking down the masters of the late 19th century, he was particularly interested in the work of Vincent van Between 2013 and 2014, Raynald Leclerc undertook three trips to Provence where he made several sketches that he brought back to his studio in Quebec City. Inspired by his Provençal itinerary, he painted a series of paintings that can be found at exhibitions in Quebec and France.
Today his paintings are exhibited across Canada.