Annie Jacquemet receives photographs from her globetrotting husband, Michael Barrington, who works on humanitarian causes worldwide. She delights in painting portraits of the people involved in these projects. Shy Ethiopian Girl, her 16” x 20” oil painting, is bursting with the colors of beautiful Ethiopian fabrics that are part of this equally beautiful young girl’s native dress.
The Lamorinda Arts Council invites you to view a virtual exhibit of portraits by Annie Jacquemet during May. All Council art exhibits are virtual until COVID-19 restrictions change. See Jacquemet’s virtual exhibit entitled “Around the World in 12 Portraits” through images at http://www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries.
Jacquemet, who lives in Concord, closed her psychotherapy practice in 2008 and began watercolor classes right away. Taking classes at Walnut Creek Community Center fulfilled a promise she made to herself when she retired. Although she grew up in Orleans, France, and worked in Paris as an adult, neither art nor music was part of her early life. Still, she was always attracted to art. She visits France regularly and is still close to childhood friends.
Some of her favorite artists include post-Impressionists such as Norwegian painter Severin Kryoer (1851 – 1909), Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860 – 1920) and Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla (1863 – 1923). Prior to the pandemic, she visited Sorolla’s Madrid home, which is now a museum of his work. Each of these painters has a unique way of treating light in their work which she admires and finds fascinating.
Jacquemet’s husband, Michael Barrington, travels around the world in aid of humanitarian causes, always returning with photographs of his projects. Often these photos serve as models for her portraits. You will see portraits of people of all ages from the U.S. to Guatemala, Ethiopia, Ghana and Japan.
She enjoys taking classes with Patsy Taylor and Gary Bergren at the Community Center. “I work at loosening up by brushwork and keeping my mind and eyes open,” says Jacquemet. Projecting emotions and feelings through her artwork to show that she cares about people is her goal. In her statement paintings, her intention is to denounce injustice. One look at Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s level gaze in RBG, her 11” x 11” oil painting on canvas, tells quite a story.
For more about her work, visit
www.anniejacquemet-art.com. The Art Gallery at Wilder is virtual because the Gallery is closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Contact Curators Denise Nomura and Aniston Breslin at wildergallery@lamorindaarts.org.
