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Rokhaya Waring

Rokhaya compares her painting process to cooking or gardening- where colors, flavors and textures combine intuitively and where passion and the passage of time are fundamental. Her childhood memories of homeschooling- where activities included raising goats, baking bread, playing the piano and the violin, and camping across America- have informed her creative vision. Travel, close observation of nature and daily sketching from life are the foundation of her technique. Waring has shown in over 150 solo and group shows in Europe and in the U.S.. She is featured in “100 Artists of New England” (Schiffer 2011) and in “The American Flag in Contemporary Art”, (Schiffer, 2015). Cape Ann Plein Air: 2nd place QuickDraw 2018. Cape Ann Plein Air: 3rd place QuickDraw 2022. www.rokhaya.com

Gallery

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nc plein air 2023 artist Rokhaya Waring 13 1

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Biography

Rokhaya Waring has been drawing from nature since she could hold a pencil, and her paintings form a record of her French-American family’s moves around the world: from Sante Fe, where she was born, to Florence, then Paris, and back to the U.S.. Rokhaya was home-schooled, graduating in ‘84 from the Waring School which her parents founded in ‘72. Cape Ann, MA, where she grew up, and Provence, where she spent every summer for nearly 20 years, hold special places in her heart. The hay rolls of Provence which she painted while using her old Renault 18 as an easel and shield against the mistral winds, and boats in Gloucester harbor where she lived for another 13 years, are two of her iconic subjects.
Waring’s love of nature, travel and Plein Air are deep-rooted. So it’s no surprise that in the spring of 2021, she sold her house in Gloucester, MA to move into a vintage Safari Trek motorhome and headed south to explore and find new vistas to paint. She currently resides in Clyde, NC with her artist husband and their two whippets, and her deck view of the Blue Ridge Mountains has quickly become a new favorite subject.
Waring earned her BA in Fine Art/Art History from Princeton University in ‘88. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, North Shore Arts Association, the Copley Society (1995-2008), the Rocky Neck Art Colony, and has shown at the Salon Des Artistes Français, the Salon d’Automne in Paris, and at the Currier Museum of Art. Her commissioned oil paintings are featured on Tru Fragrance & Beauty’s line of products (sold at TJMaxx/Marshalls). Waring is featured in “100 Artists of New England” (Schiffer 2011) and in “The American Flag in Contemporary Art”, (Schiffer, 2015). Notable collectors include: Carl Crossman (art collector, dealer and appraiser for Antiques Roadshow); Todd Park (US Chief Technology Officer under Obama); Andre Agassi; Brooke Shields.
2023 Exhibitions and Events:
AUGUSTA PLEIN AIR – 2023, Augusta MO
Judge’s Choice in Historic Augusta Quick Paint; Sponsor’s Choice for Best in “Big Views” Theme category.
April 20 – 29, 2023
PLEIN AIR NEW BERN 2023, Annual Juried Plein Air Event, New Bern NC
May 14 – 21, 2023
PAINT ANNAPOLIS – 2023, Annual Juried Plein Air Event, Annapolis MD
June 3 – 11, 2023
PLEIN AIR EASTON – 2023, Annual Juried Plein Air Event, Easton MD
July 12 – 23, 2023
BLOWING ROCK PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL 2023, Blowing Rock NC
August 15 – 19, 2023
LAST SEASON at BLUE HERON GALLERY, Wellfleet MA
Oil Paintings and Watercolors
May to October 10, 2023
Select Solo Shows:
2019 – Recent Paintings; Blue Heron Gallery; Wellfleet, MA
2018 – Recent Paintings; Blue Heron Gallery; Wellfleet, MA
2016 – Oil Paintings: Land, Sea & Sky; 10th Annual Solo Show, Blue Heron Gallery; Wellfleet, MA
2015 – Pieces of Gloucester; Center Gallery; Gloucester, MA
Select Group Shows, Awards & Events:
2023 – Augusta Plein Air: Judge’s Choice for Historic Augusta Quick Paint; Augusta, MO
2023 – Augusta Plein Air: Sponsor’s Choice for “Big Views” theme; Augusta, MO
2022 – Cape Ann Plein Air: 3rd place QuickDraw; Cape Ann, MA
2022 – Art is in the Air: Brevard, NC
2022 – Blowing Rock Plein Air: BRAHM, Blowing Rock, NC
2022 – Southport Plein Air: 1st place, Mayor’s Choice award; Southport, NC
2022 – Artists on Location: plein air juried event & exhibition; Knoxville, NC
2021 – Bath County Plein Air Festival: juried event & exhibition; Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
2021 – AIS- First Associate Member Online Exhibition; juried show
2020 – SGIPO: St George Island FL Paint-In; at home, Gloucester, MA
2020 – Florals: Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
2019 – PIPAF: Honorable Mention in Quickdraw; Parrsboro, NS
2019 – AIS- 3rd Annual Impressions Small Works Showcase; juried show; Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI
2019 – Art on the Rocks: 3rd place; Gloucester, MA
2018 – Cape Ann Plein Air: 2nd place Quickdraw; Cape Ann, MA
2018 – Bath County Plein Air Festival: juried event & exhibition; Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA
2018 – “Spring Awakening”; Charles Fine Art, Gloucester, MA
2018 – “Winter Wonders”; The Cultural Center Gallery at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA
2017 – Cape Ann Plein Air: juried artist & exhibition; Cape Ann, MA
2017 – “Lexicon Gallery Holiday Show”: invitational; Lexicon Gallery, Magnolia, MA
2017 – “Rocky Neck NOW”: member’s show; The Cultural Center Gallery at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA
2017 – “Artists Drawings & Paintings”: juried show; The Cultural Center Gallery at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA
2016 – “For the Birds”: juried show; Best of Show; The Cultural Center Gallery at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA
2015-2016 – Alpers Fine Art: “(Largely) Small Works”; invitational; Andover, MA
2015 – FlatRocks Gallery: “Blooming; invitational; Gloucester, MA
2015 – Cultural Center Gallery: “It’s Not Furniture”; juried show; Juror’s Choice Award; Gloucester, MA

Artist Statement

Rokhaya compares her painting process to cooking or gardening- where colors, flavors and textures combine intuitively and where passion and the passage of time are fundamental. Her childhood memories of homeschooling- where activities included raising goats, baking bread, playing the piano and the violin, and camping across America- have informed her creative vision. Travel, close observation of nature and daily sketching from life are the foundation of her technique. Rokhaya has shown in over 150 solo and group shows in Europe and in the U.S.