Judy creating a watercolor
12 Feb 2025

Art for Mindfulness

posted in: Judy Lavoie | 0

“Mindfulness” has been a buzzword in recent years, describing a therapeutic technique for reducing stress and anxiety. My desktop dictionary defines it as “…a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations…” When I read a simpler explanation elsewhere – that mindfulness is achieved when you stop worrying about yesterday and tomorrow and focus your senses on what you are doing at the present moment – … Read More

Four small scratchboards © Judy Lavoie 2024
29 Oct 2024

Small Work, Big Impact

posted in: Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, scratchboard | 0

I’ve been having a terrific time creating small scratchboard artwork, while also exploring subjects new to me. Each of these four new scratchboards is just 3”x5”, the size of an index card. The beauty of scratchboards, and one of the reasons I love creating art on them, is the ability to render very fine details – even at a small size. This characteristic is what draws viewers to my scratchboard paintings, always curious how such precision and exactness is achieved … Read More

"perfectionist" original scratchboard © Judy Lavoie 2022
27 Sep 2024

Securing My Spot

posted in: Judy Lavoie | 0

“Perfectionist” has again brought me honors. I am excited to announce that I have won a top award in the highly regarded Oak Ridge (TN) Open Show 2024. My scratchboard received the “Two-Dimensional Award of Merit” (which is 2nd place after Best of Show). The juror, David Underwood, said this about my work: “The detail and accurate rendition of the subject in this piece is exquisite. This piece is evidence of great drawing skill along with expertise of the chosen … Read More

"Summer Hummer," original Scratchbord™ © Judy Lavoie 2024
9 Jul 2024

My Touch of Bling

posted in: Judy Lavoie, scratchboard, Scratchbord®, watercolor | 0

A walk through my friend Lil’s gorgeous gardens inspired my newest scratchboard “Summer Hummer.” I had been pondering a suitable painting subject to use some new metallic watercolors. A male ruby-throated hummingbird seemed perfect, with his sparkling emerald crown and red throat. I could paint our summer visitor as if he were hovering in front of a flower to sip nectar; Lil’s brilliant red tubular flowers of “Crocosmia Lucifer” (native to South Africa) gave me the ideal floral reference. A … Read More

"Violet," an original acrylic on canvas © Judy Lavoie 2024
13 Jun 2024

I’m No Shrinking Violet!

posted in: acrylic, commissioned painting, Golden Fluid Acrylics, Judy Lavoie | 0

With the reference photo on my desktop computer, I cropped it to fit 8×10, as Brenda requested. When I enlarged Violet’s face to study the details I could see that a close up, done horizontally, would make a more dynamic painting than doing her whole body in a vertical layout, especially on such a small canvas. I ran this idea past Brenda, showing her both options, and she agreed. I was off and running! For my commissioned work I choose … Read More

"Puppy Love" original watercolor on paper © Judy Lavoie 2024
20 May 2024

My Portrait – A Winner!

posted in: awards, Judy Lavoie, Tennessee Watercolor Society, watercolor | 0

As you can see, it’s not a self-portrait or even a human portrait. It’s my dog Maggie, who is now 11 years old. My reference was one of many photos I took of her the first day we adopted her as a 7-lb shelter puppy. Her innocence fooled us then – she turned out to be the most challenging pup we ever raised. Today she is calm and loving, but she occasionally shows her stubborn and independent streak! Her eyes … Read More

"Warm Fuzzies" original scratchboard with inks © Judy Lavoie 2024
15 May 2024

Beginners’ Guide to Scratchboards

posted in: Judy Lavoie, scratchboard, Scratchbord®, Tips and Techniques | 0

When I display my scratchboard artwork, these are the most common questions I hear: What is Scratchboard? How long does it take you to do a scratchboard? Do you need a lot of patience? How do you add color? What if you make a mistake? I answer all these questions below. My newest scratchboard “Warm Fuzzies,” which I recently showed in progress for several scratchboard demonstrations, is now finished and posted below, with detailed step-by-step photos and explanations to help … Read More

"Sailors Take Warning," original watercolor © Judy Lavoie 2024
7 Feb 2024

Expanding My Horizons

posted in: Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, Nubble Lighthouse, Tips and Techniques, watercolor | 0

I’ve been using all my art time recently to paint, finally taking a breather to show you what I’ve been up to. My concentration for the past couple of years has been on scratchboarding, which I love. But it was time to change gears and get back to watercolors. As a longtime member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society, I wanted to have at least two new show-worthy watercolor paintings to enter the 2024 biannual exhition, to be held in Knoxville … Read More

"Making Our Marks" exhibit postcard
8 Jan 2024

A Really Big Show

posted in: art show, Judy Lavoie, scratchboard | 0

I’ve just hung over 40 pieces of my artwork in a 3-month solo exhibition! My scratchboards are featured, along with many of my watercolors, acrylics, and prints. The Art Gallery walls are full at the Rarity Bay Community Activity Center in Vonore, Tennessee. It is a beautiful venue and I am delighted to be able to present my work there. “Making Our Marks” is the title of the show, and it is the first in the gallery to feature artwork … Read More

"Dragonfly" scratchboard © Judy Lavoie 2023
4 Dec 2023

What is bokeh?

posted in: Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, scratchboard, Tips and Techniques | 0

Have you ever noticed a background in a photograph which has blurry circles of light against darker areas? This is a “Bokeh” effect, and is comes from a Japanese word meaning “blur quality.” Evidently it means than just the blur, it’s the overall effect of the soft out-of-focus background, from an aesthetic viewpoint. I have used this effect in watercolor paintings in the past, and recently saw other scratchboard artists apply bokeh nicely to their backgrounds. So I decided to … Read More

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