Alexandre-Aimée Baker
Special to the Tribune
If you’ve driven down Main Street or grabbed a box of fresh poutine over the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed a vibrant transformation unfolding right in the heart of town. A brand-new mural now graces the west wall of Michaud & Levesque: a bold, beautiful homage to our Northern Ontario landscape featuring towering pines, graceful cattails, a peaceful canoe, and our signature open skies. Designed and brought to life by Sturgeon Falls native Véronique Gervais (who creates under the artist name Vero Coya), the artwork is a striking gift to West Nipissing, created through a combination of community generosity, family connection, and spontaneous inspiration.
For Gervais, who grew up in Sturgeon Falls and attended École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, the project began with an unexpected spark during her annual trip home. Now residing in Victoria, Australia with her husband, a fellow artist specializing in stained glass, Vero travels back to West Nipissing each year to reconnect with family, gather around campfire dinners, play Bananagrams, and soak in the lush, water-rich Northern nature that contrasts so sharply with Australia’s dry climate. While visiting Riv Chipstand, a beloved local spot where she worked as a teenager (and which her family once owned), she looked across the street at the bare wall of Michaud & Levesque, a building with deep roots in our town’s commercial history, and immediately felt inspired.
Within hours, Vero sketched a simple yet evocative proposal rooted in her signature aesthetic: clean lines and heavy, resonant imagery. “It was the first time I took direct inspiration from my home,” Vero shared during our conversation. With only a short window before her scheduled departure, things moved with incredible speed. Within two days of sending a message to Paul Levesque, owner of Michaud & Levesque, with a helpful connection from local link Gayle Primeau of the Sturgeon Falls Beautification committee, Levesque enthusiastically donated the wall space and all the paint required to bring the design to life.