Meet your neighbors update: More opportunities to see the art of LaCroix

Those of us who participated in the Forest Hills Art Walk last May got to see Deborah LaCroix‘s art in her home studio and gallery.

Now, two of her paintings have been selected for shows opening this month and the next in DC and in Wisconson. And she is one of the artists participating in the Van Ness “Art All Night: Made in DC” event on September 24th.

One of her pieces is part of an October exhibition titled “Cornucopia,” featuring member artists from the DC chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art. The WCA was founded in 1972 to support and recognize the contributions of women in the arts.

Gust reflects LaCroix’s love of fall.

“Being immersed in a world of color is a painter’s dream,” LaCroix says. “Add to that the intriguing individual shapes and gestures of leaves and the wind that keeps them alive and moving in the midst of decay and you have a natural drama. Caught in a human-made landscape, the painting heralds the onset of winter.”

Gust was selected by Lavinia Wohlfarth, curator for the exhibition and owner of Wohlfarth Galleries at 3418 9th Street NE. The Wohlfarth Gallery is one block from Metro’s Brookland station and street parking is also available. The opening champagne reception is Saturday, October 8th, from 4 to 7 pm, and the exhibition will continue through October 29, 2016. For gallery hours, visit the gallery website or call 202-526-8022.

And if you happen to find yourself in northern Wisconsin sometime in the coming weeks, you can pop into the Nicolet College Art Gallery in Rhinelander. There, LaCroix’s Rio Aguas Calientes, Peru will be on view.

The painting is of a river scene captured in photographs by Deborah’s husband while stay in the town of Aquas Calientes to tour Machu Picchu.  She was standing on a deck outside a resort restaurant overlooking the river and marveling at the huge boulders and the intense green colors of the river when she noticed some men having a great time together swimming and sunbathing.

“The contrast between that bit of humanity and the enormity of the natural scene just struck me,” LaCroix says, “so I asked my husband Gary, who is a much better photographer than I, to shoot numerous pictures of the boulders, the river, and them. Quite a number of months after returning home, I used the photos to jog my visual memory of the scene, combining and changing different elements to comprise my composition.”

The exhibition will open with a reception on Saturday, September 24th and will close on Friday, November 4th. This is the 29th Annual Northern National Art Competition. More than 270 artists entered the competition, with more 518 images. Of those, only 86 works were chosen.