Fetchko fills Norway Savings lobby

NORWAY — Francoise Lagoutte Fetchko, a painter from Woodstock, will be the featured artist in the Norway Savings Bank lobby during the month of August.

Francoise and her husband Peter moved into their Woodstock farm over a decade ago, and since that time, she has found ready subjects for her paintings in the animals, plants and flowers that they raise in this beautiful mountainside setting with views of Mount Washington.

Her travels throughout the Western Maine mountains as well as trips to the Maine coast have also inspired her painting.

Francoise was born and raised in the village of St. Julien, near the City of Lyon, France before moving to the United States in the 1960s. Her native village, where she still visits often, is also an inspiration for her work.

Her paintings are primarily landscapes and still life oils, with a series that also includes some of the colorful farm animals from their Woodstock homestead. Francoise has also created paintings that emphasize the shapes and details of the natural world, creating an almost abstract effect.

Francoise’s paintings are most notable for her vivid use of color, and a visit to the Fetchko’s farm to see the variety of Francoise’s flower gardens is to know how influential that color is in her paintings.

One of her favorite subjects has been the reflection and autumn foliage of trees lining the shore of area lakes. Such landscapes and coastal Maine seascapes emphasize Francoise’s skill at mixing and blending colors to capture on canvas the movement of water or the changing sky as a storm is brewing.

In 2011, Francoise received a second prize at the Norway Art Show for a painting of a dory on the Maine coast. She is a member of the Western Maine Art Group and studies with Murad Sayen and for two years with Jane Chandler with many classes at MECA.

The paintings were hung on August 3 and will remain in the lobby until the end of the month. Norway Savings has hosted several such shows to promote the work of local artists as well as brighten the lobby for customers and staff alike.