26 Jun 2018

Bree in Heaven

posted in: acrylic, commissioned painting, dog portrait, Judy Lavoie, pet portraits | 0

This dog portrait is unlike my usual “head-shot.” My friend Jenny messaged me with a photo, sadly saying her daughter-in-law Lindsey’s dog Bree had just died at age 15. She asked if I could do a painting from the photo, as a surprise for Lindsey. I was grateful for the opportunity and eager to tackle the interesting pose. Unfortunately, the backlighting which helped to capture a dramatic pose simultaneously knocked out the details in the shadows. The photo was small … Read More
20 Jun 2018

Oh Lonesome Me

posted in: acrylic, animal paintings, dog portrait, Judy Lavoie, pet portraits | 0

I’ve just completed one of two commissioned pet portraits I’ve been creating simultaneously. This one is of my ‘god-dog’ who is named Lonesome. He is the most timid dog I’ve ever met, always slipping off to the security of his dog bed when guests are at his house. My husband Rick took it as a personal challenge to convince Lonesome that it was safe to let Rick get close. It took a little while, but they eventually bonded. Our eldest … Read More
21 May 2018

Making Ordinary into Beauty

posted in: Art Guild, awards, Best In Show, Eat Chicken, Judy Lavoie, news, Tennessee Watercolor Society | 0

  “Best In Show” is an award I never expected to attain from the preeminent Tennessee Watercolor Society, but it all happened last week. At the opening of the 2018 Biennial Juried Exhibition, my painting “Eat Chicken”  came in first place! I was already honored to have only one of sixty paintings chosen for the show (173 were submitted by 101 watercolor artists from the 250+ membership and non-members.) These exhibitions illustrate the finest watercolors in the state of Tennessee, … Read More
19 Apr 2018

A Special Invitation

posted in: art show, event, exhibitions, Judy Lavoie | 0

For those of you who live near me in East Tennessee, mark your calendar for a special art event. Please join me at the Art Guild of Tellico Village’s 20th Annual Spring Art Show. Six of my original paintings will be included in the show, along over 200 two- and three-dimensional fine art pieces by members of the Art Guild. Paintings, photography, pottery, fiber arts, fused glass and other works will be exhibited – for show and sale. This popular … Read More
12 Feb 2018

Bloodroot

posted in: floral, Judy Lavoie, limited palette, Tips and Techniques, watercolor | 0

  I have many passions; my newest painting combines two: watercolor and wildflowers. It’s of one of my favorite springtime woodland flowers, Bloodroot. The  3″ flowers are among the earliest bloomers in March in my Tennessee woods, unfurling their pure white petals in striking contrast with the dark, wintry forest floor. Bloodroot was traditionally used as a medicinal plant by Native Americans, as well as a natural dye. The red roots and the stems release a blood-color sap when cut, … Read More
30 Jan 2018

Eat Chicken

posted in: animal paintings, Judy Lavoie, limited palette, New Artwork, watercolor | 0

  Searching through my big file of reference photos, I came upon shots I took a few years ago when we brought our Florida visitors Dee and Len to experience some of our friends’ farms. These cows were some I photographed at Susan and Dave’s, where they raise males, born on a dairy farm so of little use for the milking operation. Susan bottle feeds the newest arrivals, then raises them in a lovely open pasture, with her chickens ranging … Read More
26 Jan 2018

Keep Out

posted in: limited palette, New Artwork, watercolor | 0

I passed this bizarre decaying building on a little-travelled rural backroad and was happy to have my camera. It was a sunny morning and the front of the building was bathed in light. If only this place could tell me its story, sitting close to the road in the middle of nowhere, with bars over the windows. Had it served as a small community jail? I loved its quirks – the weathered siding, the red stains at the top of … Read More
12 Jan 2018

Good Thing She’s Cute

posted in: animal paintings, limited palette, New Artwork, Tips and Techniques, watercolor | 0

  All my paintings in the past year were done in acrylics, and now I’m trying to ease back into watercolors. Over the years I’ve done many watercolor paintings using a limited palette – basically just red, yellow and blue – such as Jerry Van Music Man and Grandpa’s Fiddle Break. In those cases, I mixed the pigments on the palette to create new colors, then brushed the mixed colors on the paper. Now I’m trying another method: letting the … Read More
5 Jan 2018

This Bud’s For Me

posted in: acrylic, Judy Lavoie, New Artwork, series, still life | 0

I don’t often do a painting just for myself, other than my own dogs’ portraits. This is a special one which I was determined to finish in 2017. It’s part of a series, another atypical characteristic of my art. It’s not a Monet-type of series, where he painted subjects such as haystacks, the Rouen Cathedral, and waterlilies over and over in different lighting and weather conditions. No, my series is very different – I have painted the same vase three … Read More
14 Dec 2017

December: Values

posted in: Judy Lavoie, tone, value | 0

One of the most important design elements in a painting is value. Value (or tone) can be defined as how light or dark a color appears, rather than its actual color (“hue” or “chrome.”) Think of a black and white photograph, where the image is composed of blacks and whites, plus a full range of grey values. The same is true of a drawing in pencil or charcoal, as with my drawing of my cat Ernie. Turn any color image … Read More

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