Martin LaLonde
VWS Signature Member
Contact Information:
Phone: (802) 863-3086
Email: martinlalonde@comcast.net
Website: http://martinpaintings.blogspot.com
Address: 304 Four Sisters Road, South Burlington, VT 05403
Artists Bio:
Soon after Martin moved to Vermont with his family in 2007, he launched into a new role as stay-at-home parent. Looking for a constructive pasttime for when he was not cooking, keeping the house in order, volunteering at his kids’ school, or chauffeuring them to and from after-school activities, he took up watercolor painting in 2008.
Martin found an instructor and mentor in Retha Boles of Pittsford, who guided him in the technique of realism and glazing, slowly building up the colors, values and textures in a watercolor painting. He expanded his technique in workshops with several other artists, including Robert O’Brien, John Salminen, Annelein Beukenkamp, and Jeannie McGuire. In November 2012, Martin had a solo show at the SEBA Gallery in Burlington, featuring paintings based on images from the LeRoy Hunting Club in Alpena, Michigan, where Martin is a fourth-generation member. Martin has also had a solo show at the Vermont State House in Montpelier in April 2016.
Martin enjoys painting from old black and white photos, which gives him the freedom to work out color schemes. He is attracted to a broad range of subjects: figurative, floral, architectural, and landscape. Although he uses a controlled and planned style, he also enjoys the spontaneity and challenge of the medium and has learned that watercolor is more forgiving than is commonly thought – slips and gaffes can be remedied or, as in many of his paintings, are incorporated into his finished works.