Virginia Lassiter
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910.231.1018 ginnylass@gmail.com
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40 Virginia Lassiter, Harbor Lights, acrylic 21.25″ x17.25″ |
| A native of Wilson, NC, Ginny Lassiter has always been a creative soul. She’s a potter, she paints, she sketches, and she designs fabrics. She graduated from East Carolina University, majoring in art with an emphasis in design. In 2002 she opened Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash, NC, a large gallery catering to both locals and visitors to the coastal Carolinas. Her taste, which is evident in every aspect of the gallery, leans toward the eclectic.
“My work has always been related to art,” Lassiter says. “But I didn’t start painting seriously until about ten years ago when I sat in on one of the gallery’s workshops with Sterling Edwards. He really pushed me to develop my own voice, my own art.” Lassiter also credits her design instructor at East Carolina, the late Warren Chamberlain. “He helped me hone my drawing and composition skills and taught me how to critique my own work. With his help, I learned the importance of spontaneity and the value in limiting my palette. It keeps the work from becoming too busy.” For pure inspiration she cites the work of internationally known Myrtle Beach, SC native Brian Rutenberg. Working with a warm palette of earth tones, Lassiter has created a sophisticated body of work. Her paintings, often textural and almost always abstract, are primarily expressionist in nature, sometimes influenced by architectural structures, forms and spaces. “I love the process of painting abstracts,” she says. “By focusing on shape, color and line, I’m able to step outside of the ‘real world’ and representational imagery, but still generate interest from the viewer. It’s my hope that each of my paintings draws the viewer in and brings about an emotional response.” Lassiter is at the gallery most days and happy to answer questions about her art. |
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