"Bloodroot" by East Tennessee fine artist Judy Lavoie has been selected for the 2019 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. The featured watercolor painting depicts the pure white blossom of the early spring Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis. Judy paints a wide variety of subjects, but especially loves combining her passion for art with her passion for spring wildflowers.

"Bloodroot" by East Tennessee fine artist Judy Lavoie

Her artwork, in watercolors and acrylics, are frequent award winners, including Best Of Show in the prestigious 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition. Inspiration comes from Judy's surroundings, a rural Tennessee community in the Appalachian foothills. Judy considers the land around her home a paradise; the mixed forest, meadows and spring-fed creek are a haven of wildflowers, song birds, hummingbirds, wild turkeys, butterflies, mushrooms, flowering trees and shrubs, and a variety of wildlife.

Over the years, Judy has identified more than 100 spring wildflower varieties, literally in her own backyard. In addition to flowers, her artwork often includes aging barns, abandoned vehicles, rusted farm equipment, waterfalls, animals, interesting characters and rural landscapes. Old mason jars show up occasionally, filled with flowers in one painting, with moonshine in another. Judy paints in a realistic manner with a deep sensitivity to detail. She paints in watercolors and acrylics, on paper, canvas and scratchboards. Her signature style uses rich colors with bold contrast. Some of her work is photo-realistic, while in others she interprets colors and values in a bright, abstract manner.

"I like to depict common things in uncommon ways," says Judy. In the forty years since Judy began painting, she has earned signature member of several watercolor societies, and has received numerous awards for her artwork. She writes an acclaimed art blog, sharing her inspiration, experimentation, art materials, techniques and more. Most often her posts present the progression of her newest painting, from initial concept through completion, in a manner which attests to her teaching skills.

View her work and learn more on her website, judy-lavoie-art.com. As the 2019 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year, Judy will be featured in a solo exhibition in the Wolpert Gallery of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg TN, from March 22 - April 26, 2019. An open reception will be held on April 24 from 5-7pm.

Judy's painting will also grace the cover of the Pilgrimage brochure and event t-shirts. Today she is grateful for the opportunity to indulge in her self-declared 'addiction' for fine art, and delighted to be recognized for the combination of two of her greatest passions: painting and spring wildflowers.