About Livy Hitchcock
Livy Hitchcock, who moved to St. John from Essex, Vermont in 2004, has been a frequent visitor to the islands over the years. She arrived with her husband Tom and they own Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction. Livy’s mother, Louisa Haskin, had a residence on the island for over 20 years. Livy Hitchcock, a longtime artist, has often shown her Pastel, Oil, and Watercolor paintings on the island. She has won many honors in her native Vermont, including” Best in Show” at the 1996 and 2001 annual shows at Mary Bryan Gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont. Known for her intimate portraits and dramatic landscapes, she has been recognized as one of the most popular painters in Vermont and taught and mentored students when she was an artist in residence at Colchester High School in Vermont. She has carried on the tradition of painting on St. John. She teaches Pastel Painting at Caneel once a week to the guests as well as teaching visitors and individual(s) students from St. John and St. Thomas.
Livy Hitchcock's Artist Statement
Every artist views the visual world in his/her own unique way, and translates this view to his/her artwork. I am totally struck by the colors and textures around me in the Virgin Islands, and when I am painting, I can’t wait to translate these qualities to my work. Being very visual and enjoying realism, I am in love with painting in the Islands. The light is so superb and the contrast between the light and shadows is just plain fun to paint. There is a wealth of ideas to explore and the emotions that I want to portray are love for the place and awe over the beauty here. When one hears the phrase “living in Paradise”, I think that the inspiration I find here makes this phrase true for me. My passion is painting in the Pastel medium and I try different pastel surfaces to get different effects. There is so much diversity when painting in Pastels and I would say that it is my mission to show the world what can be achieved by using this medium. I also enjoy using oils and watercolors as different mediums give different effects. Using a different medium still shows the same style of painting and encourages me to be even more creative.