Work by Lewiston artist Jaymee Laws is a dependable fixture at Beautiful Downtown Lewiston’s annual Artwalk.
A mother of five, her passion for painting strong women is her vehicle to be able to tell an emotional story through her art. This year, she will present paintings of 12 area women. The women have not yet seen the portraits, which will be revealed at artwalk.
Laws has known the women for years and said each one transformed her life somehow. She sat with the women and listened to their stories while a photographer captured photos of them. Using the candid photos, she worked to capture their emotions in each painting.
“The entire process of capturing the emotion was about vulnerability and trust between women,” Laws said.
The featured women in “12 Local Women 12 Stories 12 Portraits” are Megan Chavez-Anderson, Kaitlin Cushman, Melinda George, Annie Holt, Jamie Martin, Krystle Monda, Meghan Pierce, Jenny Purington, Traci Vallandigham, Justine Walters and DeeDee Wood.
The paintings will be revealed at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at Northwest Media, 208 Main St. They will be on display there from 4 to 9 Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday during Artwalk.
- Danielle Seidelman
