La Vonne La Tulip Vasick
La Vonne La Tulip Vasick lives with her husband, David, over the ridge from Lake Tahoe, nestled beneath the towering Sierra Nevada Mountains. In her home studio, which overlooks the ranching community in the Carson Valley, she produces original paintings and limited edition fine art giclée prints and exhibition-quality canvas.
Her medium is transparent watercolor and she is a versatile painter of unique impressionist landscapes, flora and wildlife. “Lighting, atmosphere, and the expression of spirit and emotion are all critical elements to my work. I invite you to experience the textures, sounds, and fragrances of the Sierra Nevada through an imaginative immersion in my art.” When Vasick was growing up in the Midwest, the only girl in the middle of six brothers, her mother saw a creative spark in her and kept her out of trouble by providing a variety of art supplies for those occasions when she needed 
a “time out.” Even when she wasn’t in trouble, Vasick often chose to be creative with paints and various crafts.
She continued her creative path and studied Graphic Communication at Platt College in San Diego, which put her on the road to professional marketing. Enjoying nature, she moved her young family to live near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Over the years she explored and grew to love this vast, rugged area and its historic significance. That landscape continues to influence her work. She invites others to experience the textures, sounds, and fragrances of the High Sierra through an imaginative immersion in 
her art.
She is fortunate to have studied with other Nevada artists who have mastered glazing colors. One in particular, whom she calls “the ‘artist whisperer,” helped her to give a free rein to her creativity. Her husband’s support, a mentor’s encouragement, and her own unwavering faith that talent is a gift continue to encourage her to pursue her passion for painting.
She is influenced by seasonal light and how it changes the appearance and atmosphere of each subject, altering textures and forms and layering complexity. She is attracted to the silent beauty of the snow. The challenge of capturing wildlife action is alluring, and she is similarly drawn to Nevada history and ranching scenes. She enjoys the challenge of painting the complex textures, forms, and patterns found in nature, such as the bark of trees, the perfect placement o
f petals, dust from the motion of horses, the atmosphere of a snowy day, and the color pallet of our western sunrises and sunsets.
Watercolor is a challenging and unforgiving medium, but also immeasurably rewarding. She allows the painting to reveal itself, to emerge. Her methods are often unconventional. She tends to push the limits of paint and paper.
She compiles photographic composites before sketching the design on paper. She uses a glazing process, applying layer upon layer of color, and she may texture the surface to capture natural variations. She uses a limited palette of four colors, opaque and transparent, the colors and tones of Nevada, and 300# rough paper to hold up to her techniques.
