Work of Mahopac Artist on Display at Mahopac Library
Since her move to Mahopac in 2011, Johanne Morin has spent hours observing and photographing the wildlife in her backyard. The birds and other animals have such different personalities, and she has sensitively depicted them in a series of paintings entitled “Backyard Friends”. Sixty-one of these images are currently on display in the Third Floor Gallery at Mahopac Public Library. The work will remain on view through December 29. A meet-the-artist reception will be held on Sunday, December 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. (Masks are required in the library.)
In this collection, Morin experimented with three different views of each bird or animal: full body compositions that represent the attitude of a subject in its environment; ‘portraits’ that convey the nature of each individual character; and extreme zoom-ins which are the most abstract representations of the different wildlife.
Morin effectively uses light and color to depict the texture of feathers, fur, and the expressive eyes of the creatures she is portraying. “Just Checking”, High Alert”, and “Face the New Day” are a few of the examples of her perceptive rendering of the animals and birds she regularly observes.
Morin was born and grew up in Quebec, Canada, dedicating herself to sports before opting for a more stable future with a Ph.D. in Computer Science. In June 2000, she and her husband moved to Texas in search of a warmer life. The change of climate inspired a change in calling as she rediscovered her long-lost love of art. Informal drawing classes got her hooked. Before long she was deeply involved in the local art community and was organizing life-drawing sessions, which exposed her to artists using different media.
She began pastel painting in 2002 and took classes and workshops with local and internationally known artists. In 2008, a desire to learn more about mixing colors led her to experiments with oil paint, which remains her medium of choice. Although her current surroundings in the Hudson Valley are similar to her native home, she sees them now with an artist’s eye. To view more of Morin’s work, visit https://www.johannemorin.com/.
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