Spotlight Gallery: Multi-Talented Artist Tricia Savoie

A talented Montreal-born artist, Tricia Savoie shared some personal stories about her artwork, currently hanging in the Janigan Studio at Ottawa Little Theatre.

How are you affiliated with OLT?
I have had a yearly membership for several years now.

When did you first start painting?
Around1995.

Which of your pieces of art is your favourite?
I have to think about that. They’re all my favourites as I paint them. The one in the show has to be ‘Pierettes Pots’ as I painted it at her home, and she has since passed away so it’s a bit sentimental. I have another painting at home (my personal collection) that is a huge favourite and isn’t for sale. It’s on my business cards – Ode to Dance – it is a prize winner. It’s extremely special to me.

What artists inspire you?
The Impressionists. Tom Thomson

What inspires you?
Definitely Nature. It’s just beautiful, painting outside. I’m quite spiritual as well. Once I was painting outside in the backyard at our cottage. The place was built in 1920 by my grandfather. I was ‘on fire’ and my mom made a comment about that. I said it must be granddad’s spirit.

What is your style? Why do you think you favour this style?
I call it Impressionism – my own brand of impressionist style. This style allows me more freedom of interpretation and I loved painting outdoors, so you need to capture the essence of what you are painting in a more condensed form as the sun moves quickly and so does nature.

What “aim” or goal do you have when you do your art?
I hope to make people stop and think about the beauty of the world and nature around us.

Do you have any other stories to share about your art?
I painted as a child. Then again in high school, but I could not continue then due to financial constraints as my parents were divorced. I picked it up again in the early 1990s when I took drawing classes at John Abbott College in St. Anne de Bellevue. My Mom was in a position to help me with the costs by then and insisted on doing that.