Leo Narcisse Robichaud was born in St.Charles, New Brunswick. For twenty-two years he worked for BASF selling paint throughout Atlantic Canada and when that company restructured and moved its operations, he drove a school bus until his retirement. “I loved to see children get on the bus, they were always so happy and carefree.” In fact, you will find a bus in many of his paintings.
Now Leo deals with the effects of Parkinson’s. That doesn’t stop him from doing his folk art. It may slow him down but that just makes him more determined. On Friday July 3, he opened his largest exhibit yet at the Moncton Library. The month-long display was a wonderful opportunity to expose his work to the public. “I was so pleased with the number of people who showed up on the first day.”
He is an amazing man and is truly blessed to have found art as a way of expression. His wife Marie-Mai is incredibly supportive and the light that guides him through the fog of Parkinson’s. They have two children, Rachel and Andre, as well as two grandchildren.
Leo began painting about six years ago, around the same time he was diagnosed with PD. His first creation was a log cabin. He liked doing folk art and hasn’t looked back. Asked what effect his art work had on PD, he replied “When I paint I can block everything out and focus on what I am creating at that moment, it’s good therapy.”
Submitted by Bill Trewin, Moncton
Reprinted from Tulip Tribune, September
2009
His exibit opening at the Moncton Library is on YouTube