"Fleurie a Poelan," by Yolande Ardissone.

Today, the artist remains active and her works are still the vibrant explosion of color and spontaneity for which she was initially recognized.

In the preface to "Ardissone," a book about the artist's life and works, Christian Bonnet writes:

"Each of her works divulges her love of light, spontaneity and joy...She uses a delicate sensitivity to help her contemporaries to see life through rose-colored spectacles. Beyond the personal satisfaction she finds in it, her only goal seems to be the pleasure of our eyes: a gushing of flowers...multicolored sails...thanks to her our cares fly away as if by magic."

Yolande Ardissone, an internationally acclaimed artist, was born in France in 1927 of an Italian mother and Russian father. Since her emigrant parents were often out of work, her childhood was not an easy one. Rather than be overcome by the family difficulties as a child, she went out of her way to find bits and pieces of happiness through contact with others who were better off than she. She took guidance from these associations and through her own determination was able to force her own destiny.

From these childhood experiences she learned lessons for a lifetime and these lessons greatly influenced her work. For a very brief time the artist painted in a brooding style that bespoke the darker side of her youth. She soon dropped this style in favor of the brighter side of life and she has been capturing it in her work ever since.

Rather than clouds, she sees sunshine; in place of infertile land, she finds a garden. Hence the reference by Bonnet that she helps others to see life as she does, through rose-colored glasses.

Her art studies began in Paris at the age of 17 and she found herself painting belts, brooches and evening bags to make ends meet. Her artistic education led to the Ecole des Beaux Arts where she met her future husband Jacques Eitel, a successful painter in his own right.

They married in 1950 and in the same year she began exhibiting her work. Six years later, at the age of 29, her career took an unexpected upturn when the Wally Findley Galleries of Chicago and Palm Beach "discovered" her and began representing the young artist. With regular shows in these and other Findlay Galleries plus exhibitions throughout Europe and elsewhere, Ardissone soon became widely recognized and collected internationally.

Today, many years later, the artist remains active and her works -- harbor scenes, gardens and floral still life canvases -- are still the vibrant explosion of color and spontaneity for which she was initially recognized. And, yes, they continue to have that unique quality that brings "pleasure to our eyes."

Mildred Wilcox, the owner of Left Bank Gallery on St. Simons, has long had a relationship with the artist and meets with her in France to select new paintings. For further information on available works contact Wilcox at 1-800-336-9469 or (912) 634-0609.