meet the artist | Louise genetti
Q&A | ask the artist
how did you start painting?
In 2003 at age 18, I watched my grandmother’s life coming to an end from cancer and it prompted me to buy a watercolor set. I painted my first painting at her hospice bedside as she took her last breaths. After that, I often turned to painting in my 20’s as a way to process and heal from an adventurous dating life. Each time I picked up a brush, I found comfort in just feeling the flow of emotion leaving me and becoming something new. In the years to come, no matter the day jobs I had, I would continue to return to this refuge called creativity in the evenings and weekends.
artist | astrologer | caregiver?
Yassss!!! After nearly two decades in human services, I hit pause on the healthcare grind in the summer of 2021. I left my corporate job in critical care recruiting to focus on what I thought would be my art. However, quickly after leaving the grind culture I realized my time with my ailing Father was very limited. With that in mind, I shifted my focus full-time on securing 100% service-connected disability for my Dad, a Vietnam Veteran. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much my past work—supporting the Autism community in college and nearly a decade in healthcare—was preparing me for this deeply personal role as my father's advocate and caregiver before his passing in October 2022.
That experience taught me something I carry with me now: every role we take on in life is sacred. Each job, each chapter, shapes us for the work and callings we may not even know are ahead. In my case, those paths led me into art and astrology.
I began studying astrology in 2018 and, by passionate request from friends, started offering professional readings in early 2021. You can learn more about my astro services here. Stay tuned for more reflections on the art I’ve created over the past few years, the surprising evolution of my career in 2021, and how astrology became a supportive guide in my journey as a caregiver.
did you go to art school?
Nope! When it comes to making art, I just follow my heart, my curiosity, and my love for color. I enjoy experimenting, trying new things, and going with the flow—especially through the unknown. That’s where the magic happens.
I was born and raised a city mouse in Charlotte, NC, and I’ve always been drawn to people—fascinated by human nature, how we interact, behave, and co-create the world around us. In 2004, I moved to Asheville, NC and earned a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from UNC Asheville. That lens of observing culture, connection, and personal expression continues to shape how I move through the world—and definitely how I make art.
what mediums do you create with?
Mostly acrylics, watercolors and mixed media. I often use paints or materials that change appearance under different tones of light or as the viewer moves across them, like really chunky glitter, metallic or iridescent paints, gold flakes etc. I like to experiment with unconventional supplies too, from house paint to construction supplies from my husband’s home remodeling projects to weaving velvet fibers into canvas! To me, making art is really about enjoying the process of playful experimentation so I like to learn as I go and try supplies or brands that will offer the most reliable long-term quality, while staying true to my wild and playful nature!
How do you figure out what to make?
I’m an abstract expressionist painter so my painting process is about claiming total freedom to just make whatever I feel inclined to create in the heat of the moment. I often work fast in a subconscious flow and enjoy experimenting with new mediums and styles. Sometimes I pull inspiration from something I see in a magazine with colors that pull me in or something I just feel from witnessing others in my daily work.