Joan
Marron LaRue
Artist Biography
Artist Biography
Joan
LaRue was born in western Oklahoma in the family farmhouse.
She started out with a Shetland pony and has been
traveling out-of-doors ever since. Remote corners
of Nepal, Bolivia, Guatemala, Alaska, Spain, Portugal,
Russia, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, France and Canada have
stimulated her plein-air paintings. Currently living
in Tucson, Arizona, she and the bear are always “going
over the mountain to see what they can see.”
In Southwest Art she said, “I
find that the more I paint, the more I observe and
the more I realize what I missed observing the year
before. I don’t know if the process will ever
end. I hope it doesn’t. When you’re standing
still, you could be sliding backwards. There is so
much out there. I feel I have to keep reaching, exposing
myself to life every moment because this isn’t
dress rehearsal. It’s the real thing. I feel
compelled to gather up all I can and share it. In
life, it’s so easy to build a fence around oneself,
not intentionally, but to become fearful or protective
or so self-oriented or self-serving. It stands to
reason, if one leaves the gates open, people, concepts
and paintings can flow through.”
Joan has garnered superior accolades,
including Best of Show, for oils displayed in countless
juried, invitational and one-person shows. Professional
honors encompass membership in Plein Air Painters
of America, California Art Club, Society of American
Impressionists, Oklahoma Society of Impressionists,
Who’s Who in American Art, Tucson Plein-Air
Painters’ Society, Northwest Rendezvous Group
and selection for Frye Museum’s permanent collection.
Southwest Art, Persimmon Hill, Art of the West, Orange
Coast and Santa-Fe Focus and Artist’s magazine,
regional television stations have showcased her work,
as well as Oklahoma Petroglyphs exhibitions, which
were shown at Tulsa’s Gilcrease and Oklahoma
City’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage
Museum.
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