Alaskan Artist Barbara Lavallee Prints, Originals, and Books

A happy Eskimo child hiding in the closet peeking out from under her mother's parka, a Native dancer moving to the century old music of a walrus drum, or a hot tub full of friends on a snowy winter evening are just a few of the images Barbara Lavallee has offered in her popular watercolors. Barbara, a native of Davenport, Iowa, grew up in Wisconsin and received a degree in art from Illinois Wesleyan Univ. After teaching art in Arizona on a Navajo Indian Reservation, she took a position at Mount Edgecumbe Native School in Sitka, Alaska in 1970.

Now living in Anchorage, Barbara is a prolific painter, with many originals reproduced into limited edition prints. In addition, she has become nationally known as an illustrator of children's books. Her best known is Mama Do You Love Me? for which she received the coveted 1991 Golden Kite Award for the Society Of Children's Book Writers for excellence in illustration.

Barbara Lavallee is known for her happy people working, playing, and living with smiles on their faces. Her watercolors portray whimsical, stylized characters in vibrant colors reflecting her interest in people. She can't imagine her life without painting. "I want people to have fun. If people look and smile, then I feel the art is a success."



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