Lorraine (Gosbee) Vatcher

There really has never been a time when I was not creating. At a very early age I used my mother’s and grandmother’s sewing machines and would watch them for hours as they worked on each of their newest project. Being the oldest of a large family made the prices of fashionable clothing less available, however, since necessity is the mother of invention, I soon learned to design and sew many of the latest fashions and continue to do so now. Along with sewing, I nurtured many of the crafts, knitting, embroidery, cross-stitch, needlepoint, etc; thus the stepping stone to painting.  

At any time my favourite painting could be totally different from the one I was working on the previous day and I am usually working on at least two at any time. But that is what an artist is all about...the learning never stops and if I can continue to enjoy the journey, hopefully my paintings will stay fresh and alive!

Photography has always been a hobby for me so I use my own photographs for my paintings and when working on a canvas, I am recalling the sights, smells and the sounds that were surrounding me at that time. These memories help to give life to my work. My father, a self-taught artist, started painting as he approached retirement and now all his children have his works gracing our walls. We are lucky because we are able to see, daily, the memories he created.  And Mom’s quilts keep us all warm on cold winter nights so you see that it seemed a natural progression to use a paint brush. It is simply another step in creation .

I paint in acrylic, oil, watercolour and pastel and have taken artist courses and workshops with some well-known artists from my area and in NL.  I also completed a two-year course of Graphic Production at the College of the North Atlantic  in St John's NL where I graduated in 2004. 

I have two workshops on the internet teaching site, www.artinstructionblog.com. They are "Reflections of Pink and Green", http://www.artinstructionblog.com/learn-acrylic-painting-painting-demo-by-lorraine-vatcher  and Nature's Decorations", http://www.artinstructionblog.com/step-by-step-acrylic-painting-demonstration-by-lorraine-vatcher, two still lifes and both are acrylic lessons. 

For six years now I have been a  member of the Artisans on Main in Montague and during that time I have been teaching children and adults how to use acrylic paints. I am also teaching in Murray River for those who wants to come and find out how much contentment this medium can give a person.

We are located on beautiful Prince Edward Island and situated on the south east coast bordering on the Northumberland Strait. We continually watch the ocean in all its glorious moods and what a treat it is to rise from bed and look onto this mighty and wonderous water in all its ever-changing states!

Although I have a number of paintings in galleries, I still have many paintings in my home so if you would like to look at them in person and you are in the area, please call me and set up an appointment. My telephone number is 902-962-2327 and you can reach me through my email at  lorraine@lorrainevatcher.com