Marianna La Violette

Category: Multimedia Artist

I am mostly a self taught artist. My public library was my best resource. When my family got older I was fortunate enough to have a master of Roses as a teacher for six years in Vancouver at the Chinese Culture Centre. Part of the course, a month in nine different regions of China, added five days in Llasa, Tibet. Everything I first about watercolour I learned from my first teacher Nigel Szeto. I experimented with watercolour on a variety of paper, paper made of wild grasses from Indonesia, flower petals, palm, cotton, and rice. On these delicate canvases I would try my hand at handling the water on the brush so not to tear or damage the paper, but to leave beautiful colour behind for eyes to feast on.

Acrylics are my newest medium of expression found late in life, discovered on a weekend painting course in Victoria with three other artist women friends. I am having a wonderful time discovering what is possible on canvas instead of paper and loving it.

Glass painting is my fun away from serious watercolour-ing and acrylic-ing. This paint is like painting with nail polish. The paint is especially made for glass and porcelain it is non toxic, permanent once the paint is baked on. This paint is also dishwasher safe (then again to consider the chemicals in the dishwasher soaps will eventually, with time, remove the paint). What I like about this form of art is that it brings colour and “art” to the kitchen, the patio, your parties, dinners, weddings or maybe just a nice glass of water in the morning decorated with irises. This form of expression isn’t quite understood yet, is it a craft? Or is it an art? You be the judge.