Images Studio Tour
Thanksgiving Weekend
Friday October 7 - Monday October 10
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Lu Robitaille

From a very young age I took interest in the O natural landscapes of the Georgian Bay, while oowing and awing its 30,000 Islands. We had a summer cottage where I used nature to create my first pieces of art. My first job at the age of 12 had me making and selling sand candles made from those very shores. I spent countless hours walking the shores dreaming of how I could live out on those Islands. It was like a dream come true when I met my now husband of 38 years.
We lived and raised our children in the remoteness of the bay. When our two sons were very small I began experimenting with oils in the early hours of the morning while the family slept silently in their beds. It was so very gratifying to think a few blobs of colour could become hundreds of colours and then inevitably a painting. I never dreamed they would actually sell. The year we moved from the island to mainland, my husband encouraged me to sell them because I had far too many to take with us. We put them on display with wishy washy make doo frames at the club lodge where we worked and at least 30 of the 33 sold before summers end. That was the ultimate compliment to me.
It wasn’t until I had finished my 5 year commitment to help my husband establish a fish farm, that I realized I needed to pursue my art career. I had been experimenting with water colours when a new found friend and colleague encouraged me to get serious. I loved the medium because it gave me a truer version of the bay, making me a true realist. The oils were far more impressionistic. With water colour, I could truly share its beauty with those who love it and those who may never have experienced its ruggedness and its diverse landscape.
I’m truly an environmentalist. We have this perfect untouched land that is difficult to discover. This is my way of delivering Gods gifts to us. Many of my art works are accompanied by a poem depicting how the painting evolved or what that particular spot means to me.
With my water colours, I’ve developed a unique use of the medium that works for me. Layer by layer I control opaque colours that depict the many elements nature brings to this rugged area. The non traditional miniatures evolved from small to larger and larger works. A large percentage of my work is commissioned by cottage clients who want to live out their dreams of the bay within the walls of their city homes. It’s fun for me to actually experience living and creating their memories.
My work has been recognized by folks around the globe. I’m flattered to have won international awards with my miniatures in British Columbia, Colorado, Penetanguishene, Cookstown, Oregon. I’ve been recognized by the Sun’s “Women on the Move”, “Uniquely Ontario Gift Show”, “One of the Kind”, “Rhododendron Society Toronto”. I’ve been graced with promotions and reviews from many local and area newspapers, Wildflower Magazine, Simcoe Life Magazine, 50+Magazine, Rogers Television, CKVR Television and the Toronto Sun.
I am affiliated with the Huronia Foundation for the Arts (A not for profit organization who’s mandate is to promote and bring together artists of different genres with people who visit and live in Huronia). My goal is to break down the walls that come between the artist and the general public; helping artists to realize their self worth and to better educate people about the need for the arts in our world today.