Lollipop lady

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by SIOBHÀN O'CONNOR

After "peaking a sneak" (in her words) at Dominique Pétrin, it's no wonder her paintings, which boast clean lines and bright colours, are adorable--the local sprite looks like she popped out of one of her own works. The candid cape-clad twentysomething carts her posters and handmade dolls around in a pull-cart, the kind of thing you're more likely to see at the hand of an old lady at the grocery store than a talented visual-arts starlet.

Pétrin's work, now mounted on the walls of the cavernous beer emporium Cheval Blanc, shows a real diversity in style. Most evident are her roots in the local comix scene (see "Le Tigre" example) where Pétrin has been a staple for several years. But these days, Pétrin is more interested in flaunting her ease with the paint brush and palette--not to mention her handmade wonderwoman dolls.

Her transition from comix girl to painter seems to have had a flawless execution. Pétrin's attention to tiny detail in her paintings--with intricate lines and an unrestrained use of colour--make for some kind of fantastical trip through a lollipop land. Open to onlookers at 809 Ontario E. till 3 a.m. nightly through to Nov. 11.

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