Judy Lavoie

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

  “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

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

  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

  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

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

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

  For an excitable little dog, he’s been very patient. Watson joined our family in January 2015 and I’ve finally finished his portrait, which I started months ago… painting is my moonlighting job, so life often gets in the way! We adopted Watson from the local shelter where he had been surrendered by his owners just before Christmas. He was estimated to be about 11 months old. We figured we better not change his name, since he seemed to know … Read More