Wind Blown Cedar by Wendy Bellows

After retiring from more than 40 years of working in basic marine research (at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, a Boothbay region gem), I turned my scientific curiosity to the world of art, specifically desiring to express beauty and light with the medium of oil paint.

My inspiration comes from the American Impressionist Henry Hensche (1901-1992) of the Cape School of Art, Provincetown, MA, and his students.

I have had the good fortune to learn from some excellent artists: Hilda Neily, Rob Longley, Rick Dickinson, and Will Kefauver, for starters, and hope to continue learning whenever/wherever possible.   

My work has been exhibited at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation, Kefauver Gallery, First Federal Savings & Loan in Boothbay Hbr, the juried 2019 Art In ME show, and in a special exhibition at the Southport Memorial Library.

I live on a small farm in Boothbay, Maine, with husband Alan, a dog, a cat, 2 horses, and 4 chickens, and practice fiber arts (weaving, spinning, dying), in my spare time.

Artist’s Statement:

My goal as an artist is to show you the beauty that I see; to capture the color and light that stops me in my tracks.  Every painting is an experiment in that effort, since that fabulous light is frequently fleeting…  Photos are great, but they often flatten or completely miss the features that have caught my eye.   The method of seeing light and color taught by Henry Hensche of the Cape School of Art fascinates me and offers insights into successfully interpreting what I see, but it is truly a life-long study and a rewarding journey.

Favorite quotes of note:

“A painter is a teacher who helps others see the beauty of the world” Henry Hensche

“When you make a piece of canvas live and it makes you feel out of doors, then you have something.” C.W. Hawthorne (Cape School of Art founder)

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”  Edgar Degas