About the Artist – Barbara Bell

I paint manifestations in nature of an elemental force, symbols of a continuity of life that goes beyond the individual and his time. I depict glimpses of the primordial in water, plants and animals, moments of regeneration and renewal, cycles of life and death.

As a teacher and historian, I see my work as lessons learned and taught, as an antidote to what Kate Braestrup, in her memoir Here If You Need Me called "an estrangement from our 'local universe' that has become endemic in our time and place."

For me, watercolor is the ideal medium with which to capture the fluidity and rhythms of the natural world. The patience and craftsmanship I learned as a lithographer combine with the spontaneity and flow of line allowed by the paint. I often use material collected in the woods or by the sea both as model and tool. I look to Winslow Homer for technique and Vincent Van Gogh for passion.

See more work at www.bellslessons.com.