June Artist of the Month – Meet Vasilia Laskaris
Artist Vasilia Laskaris’ years of drawing and painting are inextricably bound to her love of family, friends, acquaintances and the dwellings and landscapes they adore. Growing up she was inspired by her father who was a mural painter, and began her studies at Mundelein College, now Loyola University of Chicago. She recalls, ” a teacher there told me to keep on painting,” and that she did. She completed her post-graduate work at the Art Institute of Chicago and became certified as an Art Specialist.
Vasilia married and moved to Needham, where she and her husband raised three girls. As they grew up, she began her fifteen-year teaching career in the Boston and Needham Public Schools, encouraging youth to value art. During this time she “kept on painting and drawing”, just as her teacher had instructed. Vasilia moves easily between several mediums including pastels, oil, watercolor, acrylic and charcoal. Her choice of medium is dependent on subject matter and mood, although she has a particular fondness of portraiture. She has kept busy throughout her life with commissioned portraiture of all ages.
The Laskaris family has a second home in Greece, where both the people and the landscape are among Vasilia’s favorite subjects. I looked at a painting which really touched me as it reminded me of my grandmother. She recalled, “A woman bought that painting because it reminded her of her own grandmother.” She is keenly adept at capturing familiar archetypes, as well as individual nuances and personality. One of her favorite paintings of a family friend (seen below) is an example of Vasilia’s love and skill in the area of portraiture.
In addition to being an exhibiting member of the Wellesley Society of Artists, she is also a member of the Needham Art Association, and a former “Copley Artist” as a member of the prestigious Copley Society of Boston. Laskaris has exhibited and received many awards for her work. She has had sixteen one-woman shows and has portraits and paintings in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. The homes of her three daughters are galleries of her beloved works including self-portraits and portraits of her husband, children and grandchildren.
