26 January – 27 April 2026
1441 Monterey Ave., Victoria, BC V8S4W1
MWFS 10am-6pm / TTh 10am-7pm
About the Artist:
Dedicated and versatile artist, educator, and curator based in Sidney, BC, with over four decades of experience in painting, drawing, and sculpture across genres including but not limited to Impressionism, Post Impressionism etc. Figurative, Landscape, Seascapes, Portraiture and Abstract are some of my interests. Painting intuitively is my first choice.
As the founder of the Odette Laroche Gallery in 2003, and pioneer of creative activities in Sidney, I play a central role in fostering community engagement through exhibitions, outdoor installations, and inclusive art education. Contributions include organizing juried events, leading workshops, consulting on private collections, and initiating charitable art projects such as the Poppy Project Mural Fundraiser, installed at Trafalgar Legion 292. Recognized in media and respected in the Canadian art community, I bring a deep commitment to nurturing creativity in both individuals and public spaces. I am mostly self taught and I am passionate about encouraging and teaching young budding artists. Dedicated to painting, drawing and sculpture included but not limited to Impressionism and other painting venues. Figurative art, Landscapes, Portraiture, and Abstract etc. are my passion and connection to nature.
Sidney Fine Art Show, Sooke Fine Art Show, Moss Street Paint-In, Instructional workshops including Glasser Institute in Seattle.
odettelaroche@icloud.com
Artist Statement:
Intuitive painting gives me the freedom to express with marks and ideas that are fresh at that moment. Composition and dramatic lighting whether present in a real vista or reconstructed for appeal and emotional response add to the drama. Colours that meld together and excite each other mix optically creating new hues. Palette knife marks give the illusion of depth within the paint. Imagery from nature’s visual clues are etched in memory. Siphoned imagery strengthens intuitive, spontaneous painting sometimes pushed to the edge of realism and abstract. I paint from realism to some abstraction as needed. Spontaneous impressionism is often used for en Plein air painting and studio painting for expressive painting.
The images are alive with movement and dramatic lighting dancing on the forms as they shimmer with the change of light from break of day to lights out. It is important most important to maximize the emotion with high contrast that takes me into the image with layers of paint that add depth to the paint itself. The result engages into the story or the scene rather than flat colours that sometimes can look like cut and paste process.
Passion is provoked in me by nature’s various, sometimes violent, cloud displays, portrayed through hues, shapes, intensity, and mark making evidenced in the scenes displayed by nature’s daily dramas. Nature displays her rugged beauty textures and colour in many dramatic ways.
Picture, Still Life, and Figurative paintings are just another landscape. I find that figure painting, whether it is a dancer in front of me or a posing model, is very gratifying. I get into the psychology of the model. Lighting effects and facial studies reach deep into the soul and of the subject. People’s faces are like a novel and sometimes give away the path taken while mysteriously keeping secrets. Expressions, mannerisms, authoritative presence, compassionate kindness, innocence, youth and wisdom with age depict the journey. I try to capture all of that and I have an innate sense of design and colour choices.
Although mostly self taught in the fall 1999 I found myself on Vancouver Island and enrolled at Victoria College of Art. This was an enlightening experience resulting in freedom of expression. I went full time since art school and have a large studio at home and in a space in Sidney BC.
Art has always been a part of my life and have been self taught. In the fall of 1999 I attended Victoria College of Art and graduated in 2002. I am constantly seeking and attending workshops of interest in Victoria and in the US. Also I do a lot of research and study on my own. I have studied paints and mediums for my self and my paintings have taken a new look.
Colour and mixing colours has become second nature for me.
In January 2002 I opened a little gallery next to the Marina in Sidney and it was very successful. With nearby construction I found a new location upstairs by Fairway Market. I have been in this location ever since where I show my work, enjoy meeting people and teaching art. My work and my teaching methods have been well received.
Due to Covid 19 classes have move to an on line program designed for me Called Discord. Classes are on going and some students have been with me for over ten years. We are a close group, we have socials and art shows.
Saturdays I have a small group of teenage budding artist.
Over the years I organized and ran an outdoor art show for the walls of the fish market in Sidney. Simultaneously I organized and ran a plein air painting contest on the water front with large cash prizes and hot lunch included. I did this for over ten years. Jurors were well know artist including the late Robert Genn. It was a wonderful time.
