Raphaella's first medium of
choice was watercolor because it lends itself to the vibrant layering effects of
color 
upon color which have become her trademark. Echoes of her Norwegian
cultural history, a love of Rosemaling, and an early fascination with
Impressionism are evident in her early work, some of which took years to
complete.
More recent watercolor collections include hearts, flowers, abstracts and women of the world. Raphaella added acrylic on canvas to her repertoire in July of 2004.
Thanks to a teacher in Duluth, Minnesota, who believed Raphaella already was an artist and told her so, Raphaella painted her first work of art in Kindergarten at five years old. (In the photo below, Raphaella is in the front row, third from the right; the large mural behind the class is entirely her own.) Even so, Raphaella didn't officially take up art until much later in life, in 1981. Since then, she has consistently sold her work to collectors around the world. She has been supporting herself with art since 1997 when she left Los Angeles for Oregon to pursue living her dreams.
Born a Norwegian in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1984 she changed her name from Barbara Jo Bergan (a name and culture still dear to her heart) to her artist name, Raphaella Vaisseau. Always in love with everything French, she picked the surname “Vaisseau” to more fully express her intention to be “a vessel of Light through which she may express her inner essence: heaven to earth, earth to heaven, people to people, heart to heart.”
In her art, color is her specialty and her love. “I interpret the magic of the natural world, and all things and beings in it, as if I were looking through a crystal portal from another dimension - a dimension where color exists as an end in itself and thereby is a vehicle for transformation.” Raphaella believes color heals.
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Raphaella's
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Sausalito Art Gallery
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Raphaella's -
Web
Site |
12/10/2006