An albino snake, a lot of music, gallons of black ink, too many sleepless nights, miles on the run, three pairs of sunglasses, six pairs of boots, several thousand cigarettes burned at both ends, a handful of paintings, a stack of filled and sketchbooks, dying love and chance encounters, a restless nonchalance, a hundred billion stars above our laughter and and way too much coffee later, Fred is still here and you're there too, so why don't we go again for a ride?
 
Fred Jourdain, an artist from Quebec City and based in Montreal, Canada, is a jack of all trades with insatiable curiosity: illustration, design, comics, painting, poster, animation. There's many on the same head.
 
Irreverence and spontaneity inspire Fred; his strokes, his characters and his imagination.
 
A versatile chameleon with a love for fun and games, his many achievements all have in common his desire for surprises, discoveries and uninhibited freedom.
 
 

AWARDS AND HONOURS


Fred Jourdain won the Bédéis Causa / Réal Fillion Prize 2012presented by the Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec, in the Best First Album category for Le Dragon Bleu a graphic novel adaptation of the eponymous play by Robert Lepage and Marie Michaud.

 

The work has been widely praised by both the public and critics across Canada, as evidenced by the numerous reissues in both official languages since its release in 2011.

 

Le Dragon Bleu was also nominated for the Joe Shuster Awards in the Best Artist and Best Cover Artist categories, as well as for the Bédélys monde award which recognizes the best French-language comic book published in Quebec.

 

 

 

FREELANCE WORK


In addition to his comic book work, Fred Jourdain has expanded his practice to illustration and design, collaborating with a wide range of clients, including:

 

  • Le Trou Du Diable Microbrewery, for which he has illustrated almost all of their beer labels.
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  • The Festival d'été de Québecfor which he created a piece on a guitar that was presented to Flea, bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as a series of commemorative posters for the festival’s 50th anniversary.
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  • He has also worked with renowned clients such as Le Capitole de Québec, Safarir, Hydro-Québec, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comics, Studio Grafiksismik, Frima Studio, Québec En Toutes Lettres, and Ubisoft Québec , on a variety of projects.

 

 

 

EXHIBITIONS


Fred Jourdain has held over 80 solo exhibitions across Canada since 2006, featuring various series of works.

 

PRESS MENTIONS

 

“The result is stunning, sometimes even breathtakingly beautiful.”
— David Desjardins, Voir

“A moving and rare graphic novel, faithful to the mythical play by Robert Lepage and Marie Michaud it is based on.”
— François Martin, Le libraire

“Fred Jourdain manages to free this graphic novel from the original work. A strong line."
— Réseau des bibliothèques de Montréal

credits

Photos: Hoby Ratsimbazafy, Benoît Thériault, Fabien Drouaine, Catherine Tétreault, Anthony Jourdain,

Catherine Côté, Fred Jourdain, Martin Poulin, Martin Côté

 

Model: Laurie-Anne Langis

 

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