At the age of 16 he was enrolled at l'École des beaux-arts in Quebec. He studied there for six years, and received numerous awards and medals. When he graduated, his goal was to devote his energy to painting his country and its beauty. He travelled to several regions of Quebec to paint with artists such as Marc-Aurèle Fortin and René Richard, with whom he developed a lasting friendship. In 1939, he attended his first Salon du Printemps of the Galerie des arts in Montréal which he would continue to attend, and in 1948, he won first prize, the same year as Pellan.