Raphaella Vaisseau
BIO
A self-supporting, self-taught artist for almost thirty years, Raphaella paints from her heart and expresses her love of nature, words, and people. Known for her vibrant layering of color on color in intricate watercolor paintings that often took months or years to complete, Raphaella is now embracing a new direction in her art with vibrant abstract gardens in acrylic. The common thread in her artistic expression is a mastery of color.
“I interpret the beauty of life and share my love of the natural world (and all living things) in abstract expressions of color and form. It’s as if I were looking through a crystal portal from another dimension, a dimension where color exists as an end in itself and thereby is a vehicle for transformation. Color bathes us in beauty, blesses, and heals. Like beautiful music, color can lift our spirits to touch the divine.”
All of Raphaella’s painting is a meditation of breathing in and breathing out, letting go and letting God, with her focus on being a vessel for light and her heart’s expression.
HELENE RECOVERY
All my life, I’ve marched forward - overcoming obstacles, learning from experiences, and believing I was progressing on my spiritual path of greater expression of the Light within and the ministry of my heart through my work in the world. The destruction of my life’s work in the flood waters of Hurricane Helene in a single day shook me to the core. It was not just the heartbreaking loss of my artwork and my primary source of income. It was the loss of community, the loss of a space to share my heart through my artistic expression. It was the loss of what I thought I was living, what I believed about the world and my place in it, and the uncertainty of beginning again.
Nevertheless, begin again I did. Without a studio, I made space in my garage to paint. I created colorful blooming gardens that express my trust in life and hope for the future. I explored the relationship between color, texture, blossoms, stems, strength and resilience. With each brushstroke I affirmed my love of nature and appreciated the beauty of life that remains after a storm.