Francine Levy

Lake Mary, FL
Email:

Francine was born in Belgium and obtained a degree in art and fashion design in Brussels. She moved with her family to Kenya where she resided for four years. There she learned the technique of batik and became successful as an artist. After moving to the United States, she worked in the business of fashion until retiring. She then devoted her time to painting as a plein air artist.

Having lived many years in Belgium and France, she traveled extensively throughout Western Europe, the Middle East (Israel, Turkey and Iran), East Africa and later, to Mexico and several islands of the Caribbean. This gave her a unique appreciation of cultures, people, and their surroundings and motivated her to return to paint in her favorite locations.

Francine admires the beauty of nature and cannot imagine a more wonderful feeling than that of drawing or painting in a peaceful surrounding, intensely in tune and in communion with her subjects. One experiences a sense of wonderment, watching the play of light and shadows subtly captured as the sun quickly modifies the moment that one tries to seize. She paints in acrylics, pastels, watercolors and does ink drawings.

Media: pastels, acrylics, watercolors

"Gainey Vineyard"
12x16", soft pastels


"Driftwood on the Beach"
11x15 1/2", soft pastels


"Rideau Vineyard"
12x18", soft pastels
 

Awards

1st Place, Sanford Art Show, Sanford Seminole Art Association, Sanford FL
3rd Place, Sanford Art Show, Sanford Seminole Art Association, Sanford FL
Honorable Mention, Sanford Art Show, Sanford Seminole Art Association, Sanford FL
Honorable Mention, Gallery On Virginia, Orlando FL
Honorable Mention, City Hall Rotunda, Orlando FL
Merit Award, Arts in the Park, Lakeland FL

Exhibits

Studio 55, Nairobi, Kenya
OVAL Gallery, "One Woman Show", Orlando FL
Osceola Center for the Arts, Kissimmee FL
New Smryna Beach Gallery, "Arts in Nature", New Smyrna Beach FL
Gallery on Virginia, Orlando FL
City Hall Rotunda, Orlando FL
Millenia Mall, "Paint-the-Town", Orlando FL
Main Street Gallery, Titusville FL
City Arts Factory, Orlando FL
Maitland Art Center, Maitland FL
University Club, "One Woman Show", Winter Park FL
Arts in the Park Gallery, Lakeland FL
Mount Dora Center for the Arts, Mount Dora FL
Comma Gallery (United Arts, Art Fest), Orlando FL

Publications

Orlando City Magazine, "Paint-the-Town", 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Sanford Herald, "Countdown to Riverwalk Celebration", 2004
Orlando Sentinel "Sanford Opens Its Riverwalk" 2004
Sanford Herald-Life Style, "Lake Mary Artist Shows Her Work", featured article, 2006
Lake Mary Life, Dec 2006

Associations

Orlando Visual Arts League (OVAL)
Sanford Seminole Art Association (SSAA)
Central Florida Plein Air Artists (CFPAA)
Plein Air Florida (PAF)