Avis Rasmussen Award
Lorna R. Marsden attended Victoria College (now University of Victoria) in 1960/61 and is the recipient of an honorary degree from the university. Avis Rasmussen is her talented sister.
Avis Rasmussen is a Victoria painter and printmaker of national significance who brings a West Coast narrative to her en plein air paintings. She has had a lifelong passion for painting in the ever-changing light of the Pacific coast. This inspired her to travel, selecting other coasts and rivers to paint in France, Italy, England and the US. In the '70s, Avis majored in painting at the University of Victoria as well as minoring in Printmaking with Pat Martin Bates, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction and a Master of Education in counselling and art curriculum.
Avis has garnered many accolades in her artistic career, and her pieces have been featured and collected worldwide. She has participated in international exhibitions in Pretoria, South Africa (2000), with the International School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture in Montecastello di Vibio, Italy (2003) and Hastings, New Zealand (2006). The Oak Bay Beach Hotel and the University of Victoria have a large collection of her works.
Avis has been advocating her whole life for the arts community in Victoria through a number of organizations. She is adept at authentic relief printmaking, using linocuts, monoprints and collographs, being a member of the Ground Zero Printmaker's Studio in Victoria. She paints en plein air with the Peninsular Plein Air Painters as well as locally and afar on her own. Avis can be seen at Bowker Creek Brush--Ups, where she cheerfully shares her extensive knowledge about painting and printmaking.
Through participation in various organizations, as well as the guidance she provides for a younger generation of artists, Avis is regarded as a figure of national and international renown. Her unique approach to colour and light reflect her personal reflection upon home and garden, as well as her dedication to image and form.