Arts Festival Design Artist


Colors of the Wind
by Muriel Lanciault

Muriel Lanciault’s work, titled Colors if the Wind, was selected as the 2010 North Charleston Arts Festival design. A collection of her works, including the winning piece, will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery during the Arts Festival and throughout the month of May, 2010.  Meet Muriel at the gallery during the Arts Festival Main Event, May 1 & 2.

 

 About the Artist

Muriel B. Lanciault is a resident of Summerville, SC, and has been painting since her retirement from a forty-year career as an educator.  She paints oil, watercolor, and acrylic works, with watercolor being her favored medium.  In addition to her painting, she enjoys reading, traveling, and dancing. 

Muriel is a graduate of The College of St. Rose, Albany, NY, with a B.A. in English.  She also holds a Master’s Degree in English Education and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Administration, both through the State University of New York.  She did additional work in the doctoral program at Syracuse University.  She taught in New Jersey and New York, and served as an Elementary Principal, High School Principal, and Superintendent of Schools in several school districts in upstate New York. 

She is the mother of four adult children and enjoys visiting and spoiling eight grandchildren.
Her work can be found at www.artsygirls.com, www.artsygirls.net, and www.mblart.com.

 

About the Artwork

This painting was inspired by a song called What Color is the Wind?, by singer-songwriter Charlie Landsborough. The lyrics tell a story of a blind child who asks his dad that question; there are many references to color throughout the song. It is color which draws me to art, and the question danced around in my mind for quite a while. How would one depict something one cannot see, but knows is there? I decided to try to answer the child’s question. Although my preferred medium is watercolor, I have ventured into oils in the past year and find the vividness of the colors very rewarding. So my answer to the child is this:

RED is the desert wind, spiking up from the hot, sandy floor;
GREEN is the cool meadow wind that refreshes us and makes flowers sway;
YELLOW is the light breeze on a sunny summer afternoon;
PURPLE is the night wind, howling around corners, making swishing noises through the tree branches;
And BLUE, dominating and overpowering all others, is the icy winter wind.

-Muriel Lanciault, 2010