Judy Lavoie

I am pleased and proud to announce that my award-winning watercolor “Eat Chicken” is being purchased for Chattanooga’s Erlanger Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center. It will be part of the hospital’s award-winning permanent art display, with other fine paintings. The Arts at Erlanger program has received national recognition, and is an important component of the new Children’s Hospital’s innovative family-friendly environment, designed to engage children, distract them from their illnesses and meet the complex needs of families and physicians. I can’t … Read More

I feel like I’ve been a bit spastic with my art recently – jumping from watercolor to acrylics, working on paper, canvas, and panels. Whatever I am working on at the time is my favorite. There are so many different art materials and methods I want to try, and it’s a continuous learning process. Perhaps someday I’ll settle down and concentrate on one medium and one surface; I’m still figuring out what kind of artist I want to be when … Read More

For my newest painting I had two goals in mind: (1) to use acrylic paints in a highly transparent way, and (2) to use an odd shaped canvas I’ve had among my art supplies for too long. The canvas is three feet wide and a little over a foot tall, so I decided to use it horizontally and create a painting of a big backlit red poppy from my garden. To begin, I reviewed many poppy reference photos in my … Read More

  When I opened a new package of three little Aquabord™ panels, I thought I was trying a new painting surface… a thin layer of fine white kaolin clay on a hardboard with a pebbly texture, heralded as ideal for use with watercolors. The surface absorbs watercolor pigment similarly to cold-pressed (textured) watercolor paper, but the paint can be easily removed. It’s sometimes known as scratchboard, and when I was a kid we created our own by covering heavy paper … Read More

A fabulous story about the 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Exhibition has just been published in Nashville Arts Magazine. The author quoted curator Terri Jordan of The Customs House Museum in Clarksville TN (about an hour from Nashville), the host site for the Exhibition. Her words about my painting Eat Chicken are so complimentary! Also in the article are lots of comments – specifically about my painting – from the show juror Lian Quan Zhen. I’m so delighted with what was … Read More

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

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