The journey that leads the artist to canvas is one through nature. As a child he found himself scouring through fields and forest on the Côte de Beaupré in the Québec region, sleeping under the stars, which he still does when cycling from the Eastern Townships to Cap Breton. In his twenties, as a waterfowl hunter his territory expanded from Abitibi to Iles aux Grues and to the Gaspé Peninsula. Graven images were naturally gathered throughout the kilometres roamed during his outdoor adventures. Training retrievers introduced him to competitions where sculpted birds were awarded as prize. These sculptures attracted him to pursue the art form for approximately ten years. Art brought him to see nature in a different light to the point where chisel and brush definitely replaced the rifle. He then participated in national and international decoy sculpting championships which won him a few ribbons. During the same period, his artwork was shown in both galleries and symposiums.

Simultaneously to his outdoor life, his professional world fed yet another passion: mankind. As a street worker he crisscrossed on foot the older neighbourhoods of his city which in turn became the stage of his interventions. His cityscapes bear witness to the fondness of these communities and the players who enliven them.

His motivations to live in intimacy with nature and man would unavoidably nurture a secret conviction: one day I shall be a painter!

The road traveled as a nature lover, hunter and sculptor brought along his route various artists, namely Pierre Leduc, Jean-Louis Courteau and Martin Blanchet with whom he developed a friendship that would become a source of answers to his many queries, a critical eye, and motivation when in doubt, or simply an exchange of artistic foolishness!

Claude Dorval portrays that anything is possible when driven by passion, persistent toil and a determination to better.