Judy Lavoie Art

20 Sep 2019

I’ve Been Framed

posted in: frames, Judy Lavoie | 1

Selecting the best frame for a painting can be challenging, and it’s often helpful to have a professional framer to assist. The watercolor competitions I often enter require very plain frames with white or neutral mats around the artwork, so that makes for simple choices. There’s method to this madness… once the exhibit is hung, the entire display has a uniformity and each painting stands out without attention to the framing. However, when I’m framing my non-competition artwork, I have … Read More

"Sleeping Ginger" ink on Claybord™ © Judy Lavoie

20 Sep 2019

Everything you want to know about Scratchboarding

posted in: Judy Lavoie, Scratchboard 101 | 0

Come join my Scratchboard 101 Class, a 3-hour lecture on Friday, November 15, 2019, from 1-4pm. It will be held at the Chota Recreation Center in Tellico Village, 145 Awohili Dr, Loudon, TN 37774. This is a lecture-based “how-to” beginner class to introduce scratchboards as a unique and exciting surface for artwork. Participants will go home with the knowledge and tools to start scratchboarding right away! My presentation will focus on white “Aquabord™” and black “Scratchbord™.” Included will be examples … Read More

11 Sep 2019

Facing More Faces

posted in: Judy Lavoie, limited palette, New Artwork, portraits, watercolor | 3

I’ve read that when you are learning to do portraiture you shouldn’t try painting people you know. Well, I’ve obviously thrown that tip out the window! As soon as I saw my sister post this photo of her husband on social media, I felt it could make a great reference in my quest to do watercolor portraits. I was especially drawn to the casual pose, the side lighting and the beard. The sunglasses would be another ‘first’ for me to … Read More

"When He Was Six," watercolor © Judy Lavoie 2019

23 Aug 2019

Conquering My Fears

posted in: Judy Lavoie, limited palette, New Artwork, portraits, Tips and Techniques, watercolor | 4

Here’s my theory: the more people paintings I tackle, the more comfortable I will become with them. So I’ve started on a quest, creating small watercolor paintings of people who I have photographed in casual settings. “When He Was Six” is the first in this series, with the title harkening back to a popular painting of a little girl I painted in acrylics on canvas several years ago, titled “When She Was 3.” I’ve done other people paintings over the … Read More

"Jordan Fishing With Gradpa Tim," acrylic © Judy Lavoie 2019

12 Aug 2019

Artist for Hire

posted in: acrylic, characters, commissioned painting, Judy Lavoie, New Artwork | 7

The word “commission” has a few different meanings in regards to fine art*. A commissioned painting is one where an artist is hired by someone to paint a specific subject of that person’s choosing. I’ve done many commissions over the years, and they present some interesting twists, as opposed to creating a painting for myself, based on my own ideas and photos. As often happens with a commission, painting “Jordan Fishing with Grandpa Tim” has stretched me as an artist … Read More

22 Jul 2019

Remarkable?

posted in: animal paintings, Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, scratchboard, Scratchbord®, Tips and Techniques, value | 0

As a painter of animals, I know it is difficult to depict black fur. A big solid area of black just doesn’t cut it – you have to capture the highlights to make it look realistic and give it dimension. I was ready for the challenge of painting a black cow. This is my first cow art on Scratchbord®. My two previous cow paintings, Eat Chicken and Cow’s In The Corn, were both very colorful, created in watercolor on … Read More

10 Jul 2019

A Few New Twists

posted in: animal paintings, aquabord, Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, QoR watercolors, scratchboard, Tips and Techniques, watercolor | 2

I created “Sweet Dreams” with a few new twists – not counting the twisted body of the cute little kitten: The reference photo is not one I took I selected an unusual palette of colors The application of paint was unconventional Watercolor pencils added some finishing touches From the first time I saw my friend Dawn’s photo of this kitty, I knew I had to paint it. Dawn had rescued her the middle of the road when she was ‘no … Read More

9 Jul 2019

Watercolors Featured in a New Show

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

Five of my watercolor paintings are included with those of 20 talented artists from the Knoxville and Chattanooga Chapters of the Tennessee Watercolor Society in a exhibition at The Arts Center in Athens, Tennessee. “The Magic of Watercolor” is presented now through August 23, 2019. An Opening Reception will be held on Friday, July 19, from 5:30 – 7:00pm, preceded by an open panel discussion at 5pm, aimed at sharing information about painting with watercolor. I am honored to … Read More

17 Jun 2019

Scratchboard Trilogy

posted in: Ampersand Art, animal paintings, dog portrait, Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, portraits, Scratchbord®, Tips and Techniques, value | 1

“Heart to Heart” is the third in my new series of scratchboards done in what I call a ‘purist’ method. These are a big departure from my previous scratchboards, in that these use no paint! I’ve done a few black scratchboards in the recent past (Pink Lady, Hair of the Dog and The Queen), but each of them used colors to help define the values. In the purist approach, the black surface is scratched to reveal whites, and the different … Read More

20 May 2019

Scratchboard 101

posted in: Ampersand Art, aquabord, Claybord®, scratchboard, Scratchboard 101, Scratchbord®, Tips and Techniques | 0

Here are valuable reference sources and hot links to help those of you who attend Scratchboard 101 presented by Judy Lavoie… and to help anyone else looking for great scratchboarding information! https://wfi.xfi.mybluehost.me References and Resources: ONLINE: Ampersand Art, Supplier of Aquabord™, Scratchbord™, Claybord™, other art panels, tools, inks, and great source of information: ampersandart.com Ampersand blog post about Aquabord™ Aquabord 101 Ampersand supplier for the UK, with a good blog post on scratchboards and other panels: Extraordinary Surfaces for Your … Read More

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