meet the artist | Louise genetti
Q&A | ask the artist
how did you start painting?
In 2003 at age 18, I watched my grandmother’s life coming to an end from cancer and it prompted me to buy a watercolor set. I painted my first painting at her hospice bedside as she took her last breaths. After that, I often turned to painting in my 20’s as a way to process and heal from an adventurous dating life. Each time I picked up a brush, I found comfort in just feeling the flow of emotion leaving me and becoming something new. In the years to come, no matter the day jobs I had, I would continue to return to this refuge called creativity in the evenings and weekends.
artist | astrologer | caregiver?
Yassss!!! After working in human services for nearly two decades, in the Summer of 2021, I needed a break from the healthcare grind culture. So I left my corporate job in critical care recruiting to battle the Veterans Administration to obtain 100% service connected disability for my Dad who was a Vietnam Veteran. Little did I know how much my experience working in the Autism community alongside nearly a decade working in healthcare would suddenly come in handy as my father’s advocate and caregiver before his passing in October of 2022. My astrology studies began in 2018 and by the passionate requests of friends, I began offering professional readings in 2021. You can learn more about my astro services here. Stay tuned for more sharing on the new art I’ve made the last couple of years, my surprise career evolution of 2021 and how astrology was a helpful tool in caregiving for my Dad.
did you go to art school?
No, when it comes to making art, I just follow my heart, my curiosity and my love for color. I enjoy trying different things and going with the flow through the unknown! There are many paths to art—school or no school—it’s truly available to us all. It can look any way we desire it to. That’s the beauty of art to me- it’s as unique and individual as we all are! Born and raised as a city mouse in Charlotte, NC, I’ve always loved people and been captivated by human nature, how we behave socially and co-create culture around us. I moved to Asheville in 2004 and obtained a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
what mediums do you create with?
Mostly acrylics, watercolors and mixed media. I often use paints or materials that change appearance under different tones of light or as the viewer moves across them, like really chunky glitter, metallic or iridescent paints, gold flakes etc. I like to experiment with unconventional supplies too, from house paint to construction supplies from my husband’s home remodeling projects to weaving velvet fibers into canvas! To me, making art is really about enjoying the process of playful experimentation so I like to learn as I go and try supplies or brands that will offer the most reliable long-term quality, while staying true to my wild and playful nature!
How do you figure out what to make?
I’m an abstract expressionist painter so my painting process is about claiming total freedom to just make whatever I feel inclined to create in the heat of the moment. I often work fast in a subconscious flow and enjoy experimenting with new mediums and styles. Sometimes I pull inspiration from something I see in a magazine with colors that pull me in or something I just feel from witnessing others in my daily work.