Louise Franco resides in Newport Center, Vermont, and has been a resident of the Northeast Kingdom for 23 years. Born in Toronto, Canada, and growing up in Miami, Florida, she met her husband, Richard, in San Francisco, California, where they lived for five years and then three years in France before moving to Vermont.

Five years ago, Louise made the decision to find an outlet for a growing creative spirit — something beyond the confines of her professional life as a paralegal and, for years before that, a legal secretary and court reporter. In 1995, she picked up paint, water and brush and took a six-week beginners course in watercolor with Lisa Forster Beach. Another year slipped by before she had the opportunity to focus more energy on this new endeavor. In the summer of 1996, she enrolled in a landscape painting class and, since then, Louise has passionately studied the medium of watercolor.

Over the years, Louise has had the opportunity to study with Vermont artists Lisa Forster Beach, Kay Maynard, Phyllis J. Hammond, Katherine Montstream and Margie Kramer; as well as other well-known artists including Tom Lynch, Suzie Amato, Margaret Laurie, Ann Pember, Jacques Hebert, Lila Lewis and José Perrault.

Through the creative process, the spirit of the artist is expressed in each of her paintings. Within the flow of the colors — sometimes bold and sometimes tentative — Louise strives to capture images pleasing to her eye and, hopefully, the viewer’s as well.

Louise’s works have been exhibited in Newport, Vermont, at the Community National Bank (1997), Chittenden Bank (1997 & 1998), and Newport Convalescent Home (1998); in Stowe, Vermont, at the Helen Day Art Center; and in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at the Northern Lights Bookstore & Café (1999). Additionally, she has had paintings accepted into the Northern Vermont Artists Association’s juried show at the Mary Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont , in 1999 and again this summer of 2000.

For more information, please contact Louise Franco at 802/334-7785