LaBerge's Work Has Spread Nationwide

Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA)
August 25, 2005
Author: LUANNE AUSTIN
Daily News-Record

Estimated printed pages: 2


She captures moments.
Like the afternoon sun shimmering through the leaves of a young
forest; a bunch of summer wildflowers plunked into a pitcher; a man
sitting on his couch, drinking coffee, looking out the window.

"Close to Home" is the name of Mia LaBerge's exhibit at the Shenandoah
Valley Art Center. Her oil paintings will be featured through
September at the center, located in Waynesboro.

"My artwork revolves around capturing an observed moment, a particular
image where light and colors evoke a viewpoint that transcends time,"
said LaBerge, of Harrisonburg. "My paintings ... reflect my everyday
environment and my personal relationship to it."

LaBerge's exhibit will feature portraits, still lifes, animals and
landscape. Her style, she said, is a blend of realism and
impressionism.

"The paint strokes are rather loose and 'gestural,' but the light and
color are represented," she said.

LaBerge began painting in oils at age 17 while enrolled in the
painting and printmaking program at Virginia Commonwealth University.
In 1992, she received an art degree at James Madison University with
K-12 certification in art. For six years she taught elementary art in
Loudoun County and later in Augusta County, served as art director for
summer camps and taught a variety of community and art center
programs. In 1998, she retired from the classroom to learn more about
painting.

Color is important to LaBerge to generate visual excitement, she said.

"The subject matter - whether portrait, animal, still life or
landscape - portrays stillness and repose which balances the active
qualities of the paint handling," she said. "The overall effect of the
work is harmonious and peaceful."

LaBerge exhibits her artwork in galleries, invitational and juried
shows and national fine art festivals. She's received awards for her
artwork since childhood, most recently from the Heart of Virginia Art
Show in Farmville, the Arts Council of the Valley, the Warehouse
Gallery and the Waterford Foundation of Virginia. Her paintings hang
in the homes and offices of private collectors across America and
abroad.

"Close to Home" features paintings LaBerge created over the past three
years, showing scenes of the artist's life in Rockingham County. The
pieces range from small to wall-sized. The exhibit runs Sept. 1-30,
with an opening reception at 5 p.m. on Sept. 1.

SVAC is located at 600 West Main Street, Waynesboro. For more
information, call the center at (540) 949-7662.

Contact Luanne Austin at 574-6292 or laustin@dnronline.com.


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