{"id":22887,"date":"2019-10-09T19:25:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T19:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realta.cp03.id-3.net\/rene-gagnon-isnt-selling-his-home-hes-selling-a-way-of-life\/"},"modified":"2022-01-25T14:54:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T14:54:44","slug":"rene-gagnon-isnt-selling-his-home-hes-selling-a-way-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.realta.ca\/en\/rene-gagnon-isnt-selling-his-home-hes-selling-a-way-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Ren\u00e9 Gagnon isn\u2019t selling his home. He\u2019s selling a way of life."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ninety-one-year-old globally renowned Quebec painter, Ren\u00e9 Gagnon has built an extraordinary estate that borders on the unreal. In 1969, he arrived at Anse-de-Roche in Sacr\u00e9-Coeur, Quebec and instantly fell in love. \u201cWhen I saw the place, I said to myself: \u2018I\u2019m going to die here,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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The original 700-acre lot was untouched at the time. No trails, no houses, nothing. Just pristine forest with enchanting views of the Saguenay Fjord. With his keen artistic eye that knows how bring the region\u2019s majestic colours to life in his paintings, Ren\u00e9 also saw the possibilities of this place that time forgot.<\/p>\n

He had arrived with just a backpack, some colored pencils and few sheets of paper. But Ren\u00e9 decided he was staying for good. He and his wife Claire-H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Hovington set to work on building a home that grew and evolved over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the money we made from the sale of my paintings was invested back in the home here on the estate. We bought a small sawmill, cut our own wood and built the estate using stones from the mountain it sits on,\u201d says the man who shaped the estate with his own hands. The couple weathered a few years of living without electricity before paying for the luxury out of their own pockets.<\/p>\n