Don’t throw away this stamp – it could be an original drawing by a New Brunswick woman | News from Radio-Canada
Jocelyne Saulnier said it was one of the most exciting days of her career when Canada Post called her a few years ago to see if she would be interested in designing postage stamps.
The Riverview, New Brunswick, woman said they were gauging her interest and told her she would receive a call when a topic that suited her design style came up.
Now, his designs will be part of this year’s holiday stamp series.
“It’s a real pinch-me moment,” she said.
Saulnier has had a long career in graphic design, which began when she completed a Bachelor of Design at the Nova Scotia College of Art Design. She worked in some agencies in Halifax then in Moncton before starting to work for herself about fifteen years ago.
His Canada Post design is a panoramic winter scene from left to right made up of three individual stamps each representing a region of Canada – West, Central and East.
The west coast drawing shows snow-capped mountains and bright blue water, with people skiing and snowboarding on a mountain.
The central design features tall trees surrounding a crowded outdoor ice rink and a glowing fire on the side.
The East Coast design is a lighthouse scene with people sledding down a snowy hill while choppy green waves crash against the cliff.
Each model looks very different, Saulnier said, because she didn’t want the consumer to confuse them. Each has a different shade of blue or green for the sky, making them particularly unique from each other.
The paintings on the stamps were done by Tim Zeltner, an illustrator based outside of Toronto.
Saulnier said she chose Zeltner for the project because of the magical, whimsical style of his art.
She said she received a concept description from Canada Post and then gave Zeltner her sketch showing what she envisioned for the series as well as samples of her work that represented what she had in mind.
Zeltner would come back with a rough sketch, the two would refine it, and Zeltner would come back with an even more detailed pencil sketch. Once both men were happy with the design, Zeltner used a paintbrush.
Saulnier said she believes the stamp series will appeal to a wide range of Canadians.
She said that looking at the final printed product, it’s almost exactly like what was on her screen, but a type of varnish was added to certain areas, which Saulnier said makes the snow look almost pearly.
Saulnier has already placed an order for the stamp series, adding an extra level of excitement to sending out his Christmas cards this year.
