Chester County Medicine Spring 2021 - 23

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Hopewell Furnace

Dr. Fontaine's introduction to the arts
came through his parents, both trained
artists and teachers. His sister is an artist
and his brother a professional musician.
So as Leander noted, " I was involved
with art since before I could walk, and I
have always drawn and painted. As kids
we underwent systematic art education,
organized by my parents. And having
been an art education guinea pig for 18
years, I rebelled and went to medical
school instead of art school. " (As you
will see from his renderings - I think his
parents won, but we will not tell Leander.)
While practicing anesthesiology, Leander
moonlighted as a cartoonist under a
pseudonym for several German magazines
and medical journals. Upon moving
to Chester County, he resumed his full
artistic repertoire. Inspired, as he said to
me, " by the art environment and breathtaking beauty of Chester County.'' Leander
uses a wide variety of media and styles
(see artist statement) though he admits
Chester County artists did not influence
his approach to painting as he was already
in his 50s when he moved here. He does
admire the technically virtuoso works of
our painters such as Sculthorpe, Wyeth
(NC and Andrew), Howard Pyle and the
Buck's County impressionists. Please take a
moment to enjoy his art.

Knox Bridge with Reflections

Artist Statement
While there is a strong personal ductus to whatever
I do (not the least because everything is based
on a strong drawing), I have never found one or
even a couple of style boxes in which I would fit.
What complicates things is that I like to adapt my
approach to a motif based on what I feel is best to
express my reaction to it, my reaction to
what I perceive to be its " magic, " " meaning, "
" demands. "
My question is very often: if I were that house, that animal, that scene, in that
situation, how would I want to be depicted? Respect for the dignity of a motif
drives my technique approach more than anything else.

Leander Fontaine
Working as artist, illustrator and cartoonist since 1981.
Published in magazines, newspapers, books; on magazine, book and CD
covers; on web sites and in other media (even tattoos) in many countries
worldwide. His drawings and paintings are in private collections in the US,
Canada, Japan, UK, Germany, and France.
As syndicated cartoonist, he had his gag cartoons appear in many Germanlanguage newspapers and magazines. www.leanderfontaine.com

SPRING 2021 | CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine 23

http://www.chestercms.org http://www.leanderfontaine.com

Chester County Medicine Spring 2021

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