Anne Laviolette: Painter

Media Preferences: 

Oil

Drawing and painting were favourite pastimes during my early years. As a physician with a busy medical practice, I looked to such times for relaxation. Later, in retirement, what had always been enjoyment became a passion. In the beginning, I was attracted mostly to floral watercolours. Later, I began to explore other media and found acrylic and eventually oil more natural to my style and perhaps temperament. I also began to find landscapes intriguing, particularly skies, water and forests, although from time to time, my psyche is filled with abstraction. When painting flowers, I take great pleasure in their textures and translucency. As for landscapes, Huron County’s farms, terrain, ‘big skies‘ and hiking trails are always stimulating. People sometimes ask whether I paint from photos or directly from nature. From nature is my preference and I enjoy painting in ‘plein air’ as much as possible. But the larger sizes of the canvases I now favour as well as the vagaries of aging  gracefully restrict me in large part to my studio, where I use photos as reference material. I find that a developing painting always ‘speaks to me’ when I am able to listen. I hope the Spirit has the final word in all such dialogue. I am honoured if my work speaks to you as well.

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