A LITTLE HISTORY

A Little History, a few Credentials, a little Tongue-in Cheek.

Have I really lived long enough to do all this stuff?

Well, yes I have, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

I was born in Menominee, Michigan. and studied at The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, the Columbus School of Art in Columbus, Georgia, and the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

All those “institute” studies helped shape many basic skills, but I have to say, there is nothing like a Mentor.

The artist who really inspired me, who showed me what I “didn’t know that I didn’t know”, is a wonderful artist, Jean Pilk.

She remains my great friend, mentor, and inspiration, and is one of today’s truly great Portrait Artists.

As a military wife, I’ve has traveled and painted extensively throughout the United States, Japan, Europe, and Korea. We made Brunswick County, NC our permanent home in 1976, and my studio and home is now in Shallotte, NC.

I’ve been drawing and painting all my life, and it still is a learning journey to this day.

I’ve worked in oil, pastel, water-color (not for me), and charcoal, and I’ve worked with with pencil, ink, palate-knife and brush. Oil painting is really my medium.

I’ve done award winning oil paintings, had a print hung in the White House, been featured on the cover of the NC publication “The State”, been written up in our local paper “The Brunswick Beacon, had One person exhibit, Pusan, Korea, 1977, sponsored by the USIS (United States Information Service), had a painting hang in the stateroom of an aircraft carrier, done murals for pediatricians offices, had my work featured on highway Billboards, brochures, an Album cover, a book cover, and on and on.

It’s stiil great fun to see my work hanging in the entrance hall of my grand-children’s elementary school, or in local shops and offices.

The inside family joke is that I’m a real contender in the “ALMOST FAMOUS” category. Maybe they’ll get me a t-shirt!

In 1982, I began self-publishing Limited Edition Prints of my work. That is an art and an education all by itself, and I’ll be posting tips and information about that aspect of the business of Art.

I also have a real passion for Art Restoration. I’ve become the in house “restorer” for Fiddler’s Art Gallery, Wilmington, NC. Fiddler’s demands only the finest “museum quality” methods and products for their clients. It is a very demanding, exacting discipline that requires extreme care, patience, and technical painting skill….and I just love it!

Just for fun… I’ve also had a successful, if small, screen printing business, and done posters for several local events, including the ” Shaggin with the Shuckers” poster for the Festival By the Sea atHolden Beach, NC, and the fall “Oyster Festival” poster. for the annual Oyster Festivalat Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Here are a few local resources for my prints ( and other great stuff):

A Frame or Two, Ocean Isle Beach, NC (910) 579-756

Callahans, Calabash, NC (910) 579-2611

Collector’s Corner, Shallotte, NC (910) 754-6199

Calabash Art Gallery, formerly River Bend Art Gallery, Shallotte, NC (910) 754-7466

Fiddler’s Art Gallery, Wilmington, NC (910) 762-2001

If you like, Contact Me:

V. R. Lauzon
P. O. Box 967
Shallotte, NC 29470
E-mail: vrl24@2khiway.net