By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current

The oil paintings of artist Laurie Jean Moore are currently on exhibit at the Smith Studio and Gallery at 124 South State St. in downtown Geneseo. Moore, who now lives in Peoria, spent most of her life in California.

The landscape exhibit depicts the love and special inspiration Moore derived from those places where she has lived. Water and the ocean can be seen as frequent subjects in many of her paintings.

Moore moved to Peoria in 2016, where she continues to paint following the classical training instilled in her at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, Calif.

“I wanted a broad base in my training so that I might not be limited in my artist endeavors,” she said. “Painting is like breathing. I have to paint the same as I need to breathe. For some it is the smell of the paint or the materials they use, for me it is the feel of the brush/palette knife pushing the paint onto the canvas. It is creating not just the representational image, but an environment or mood.”

The exhibit will be displayed at Smith Studio until March 31. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and the Studio is closed on Sunday and Monday,