Darnall, Sikes, Gardes & Frederick is featuring artwork of GWEN Voorhies for the Summer Season throughout our Lafayette office corridors.  During the months of July, August, and September, enjoy GWEN's paintings of local bayous, lakes and surrounding landscape. 

Gwen Voorhies was raised in Louisiana and spent her youth fishing and skiing the local bayous and lakes and developed a love of the local flowers, wildlife and surrounding landscape.  Early buying trips to Jackson Square in new Orleans with her parents taught her to appreciate art and antiques.  At age 16 she began painting and was one of the fortunate individuals who quickly learned to capture the beauty of the world around her on paper and canvas.

Over the years Gwen worked hard to become proficient in pen and ink, charcoal, watercolor, pastels, oils and acrylics.  Not content with mastering one subject she consistently switches from landscapes to still life, portraiture, or figures.  She believes that once the artist has mastered technical proficiency she is truly free to create allowing the visual memory to work in tandem with the eye and the brain to transform images info the masterpieces we call art.  This ability to switch between mediums and subjects is also extremely useful in her teaching.

The opportunity to travel and view master works of art first hand had a dramatic  impact on her work because it allowed her to see the brushwork and texture which is so often lacking in reproductions.  This influence is obvious in her strong almost calligraphic brushwork and textural application.

The paintings and drawings speak for themselves.  While many artists are content with painting one subject repeatedly or finding a gimmick to sell their work, Gwen has worked hard to prive she can capture the beauty of the vanishing vistas around her or for example the emotionally charged connection between a father and his child.  She often works from her own photographs and is seldom seen without a camera in her purse but can quickly capture a likeness from a live model.

GWEN is a firm supporter of several nonprofit organizations but predominantly the Lafayette Art Association, The Iberia Cultural Resources Association, IPAL, The Acadiana Center for the Arts and The Shadows on the Teche.   Because her ties to these nonprofits introduced her to the Community Foundation of Acadiana, she would like to dedicate 25% of any sales during the show to the CFA's "Elmore Morgan Jr. Visual Arts Endowment" and to the "Iberia Parish Enhancement Fund" .   Additionally, there is one painting that will be displayed that she would like to dedicate specifically.  It is a painting of the grounds of the Shadows and the historic home is one of her favorite places to paint.  Since "The Shadows" is currently repairing and restoring  an area which was recently vandalized, she would like the entire proceeds from the sale of this painting to benefit the restoration work and security measures currently underway at the Shadows on the Teche.   

 GWEN's Inventory at Darnall, Sikes, Gardes & Frederick and to see more of GWEN's work, visit her website.

For inquiries or to obtain more information please email info@dsfcpas.com.