Photo of me by the fire at my lakeside retreat in Northern Maine
Bio
As early as I can remember, I have been fascinated by nature. Whether walking in the woods, admiring the beauty of towering Pine trees, or simply hearing gentle waves crashing against a rocky shoreline, I am in awe.
My father, an avid nature lover, and my mother, a beach worshiper, passed these appreciations along to me. Growing up on Long Island, New York, many of my summer days consisted of boating on Long Island Sound, swimming at the beach, and playing in tidal pools. Family vacations included camping, fishing, and hiking throughout New England and Maine.
At about age 10, I started showing great interest in the visual arts spending countless hours in my bedroom drawing. At about this time, my grandparents purchased painting lessons for me.
When I was a Junior in High School, my art teacher encouraged me to enter a New York State student art contest. I took her advice, created a piece for the competition, entered it, and won. This experience gave me the confidence to apply to a college art program and continue my journey as an artist.
I studied drawing, painting, and printmaking mentoring under Rick Mikkelson and Diane Fine, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at SUNY Plattsburgh, New York 92’. After graduation, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where I settled into the local art scene, exhibiting, winning awards, and selling my artwork.
In 2004, I took a hiatus from showing following the birth of my twin sons. Re-emerging in the Spring of 2019, exhibiting my Encaustic paintings, and works on paper.
I am a Gallery Artist at South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA, and a member of the following art associations.
Duxbury Art Association, Duxbury, MA Hull Artists, Hull, MA (Member Artist and Board Member) North River Arts Society, Marshfield, MA South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA Encaustic Art Institute, NM IEA, International Encaustic Artists
My artwork is shown regularly at Gallery Nantasket, an Artists Co-operative, Hull, MA.
I also welcome studio visits by private appointment. Contact me to schedule a visit. 18 P St., Hull, MA Email: larawilliamsfineart@gmail.com Cell: 617-448-0764
AWARDS 2021 Best in Show, 2021 Hull Artists Members Juried Show, Nantasket Beach Resort, Hull, MA 2021 2nd Place, Mixed Media, 66th Annual South Shore Arts Festival Juried Show 2021 2nd Place, Mixed Media, 24th Annual Sea and Sky Show, Hull Lifesaving Museum, Hull, MA 2020 Honorable Mention, Coastal New England Juried Art Show, South Shore Natural Science Center, Norwell, MA 1996 Best in Show, Pembroke Arts Festival-Pembroke, MA 1996 First Prize for Watercolor, Pembroke Arts Festival- Pembroke, MA
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2022 Restorative Places, Solo Show at the Meeting Room, Paul Pratt Memorial Library, Cohasset, MA sponsored by SSAC, Cohasset, MA 2022 Variations 2022, National Juried Exhibition, King Hooper Mansion, Marblehead, MA Jurors: Miriam Stewart, Harvard Art Museums. Jessica Roscio, Danforth Art Museums at Framingham State. Denise LeBlanc, Fuller Craft Museum. 2021 2nd Place, Mixed Media, 66th Annual South Shore Arts Festival Juried Show, Cohasset, MA Juror: Joanna Fink, Director, Alpha Gallery 2021 2nd Place, Mixed Media, 24th Annual Sea and Sky Show, Hull Lifesaving Museum, Hull, MA Juror: Charlotte Wharton, CM, PSA 2021 Hull Artists Members Juried Show, Nantasket Beach Resort, Hull, MA Jurors: Keith Conforti, Nancy Sargent Howell, and Karie O'Donnell 2021 Pivot-National Juried Exhibition, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA Juror: Katherine French, Gallery Director, Catamount Arts 2021 48th Annual Winter Juried Show, Ellison Center, Duxbury, MA Jurors: Carey Vose, Vose Galleries, Robert Burns, Director Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury CT, Ken Tighe, and Lisa Betteridge, Artists. 2020 IEA Vignettes in Wax and Words, Juried online exhibition, Juror: Lora Murphy 2020 65th Annual South Shore Arts Festival, Juried Show, Cohasset, MA Juror: Jessica Burko 2020 Coastal New England, Juried Art Exhibition, 2020, South Shore Natural Science Center, Norwell, MA 2019 The 16th Annual Blanche Ames National Art Exhibition, 2019, The Ames Mansion Museum, North Easton, MA Juror: Irena Roman 2019 Juried Art Show, 52nd Annual Pembroke Arts Festival, Pembroke MA Jurors: John David O’Shaughnessy, Cathleen Broderick, and Claudia P. Iannuccilli Textile Costume & Conservator, in the Gabrielle and Leo Beranek Textile Laboratory, Museum Fine Arts, Boston, MA 2019 Juried Art Show, 64th Annual South Shore Art Center, Arts Festival, Cohasset, MA Jurors: William Houser, Norwell Kate James, and Cindy Vallino, 1997 Works on Paper, The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA Juor: Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine
SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS 2022 Solo Show, Restorative Places, Paul Pratt Memorial Library, Cohasset, MA sponsored by SSAC, Cohasset, MA 2022 May Gallery Spotlight Artists, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA 2020 65th Annual South Shore Arts Center, Members Show, Cohasset, MA 2019 Blue Ribbon Members Show, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA 2019 63rd Annual Arts Festival, Second Parish in Hingham, MA 1996 2nd Annual Pearl Art & Craft, Staff Exhibition, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 1995 The Art of July, Lansdowne Street Playhouse, Boston, MA 1995 Solo Show, Works on Paper Santa Barbara Café, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA Mark and Alyson Zildjian 1995 Artists Working, Zeitgeist Gallery, Cambridge, MA
MEDIA PUBLICATIONS 2023 South Shore Home, Life & Style Magazine, Spring Edition, pg. 112 2020 IEA Vignettes in Wax and Words, International Juried online exhibition, Digital Magazine Format, Juror: Lora Murphy 2019 Harbor Island, by Lara Williams, Cover photo, Facebook page @SSArtCenter, South Shore Art Center 2019 Blustery, by Lara Williams, Artwork for Music Single Winter Gloves by Lindsey Buck, LindseyBuckMusic.com
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Hingham Public Library, Hingham, MA
GALLERY AFFILIATIONS South Shore Art Center, Gallery Artist, Cohasset, MA Gallery Nantasket, Cooperative Gallery, Hull, MA