Artist Website: www.asbellarts.com
As an artist, I try to bring a sense of calm to the viewer. Perhaps
my style is inspired realism, going a step further to connect on a spiritual
level. Coming from an artistic family, I was encouraged to draw and
create as soon as I could hold a crayon. I was raised in Gainesville,
Florida. After college, I enjoyed a career in music and art. My husbands
military career took us around the world, giving me a varied backdrop
to paint and draw. I stayed busy with commissioned works and teaching
art, piano, voice and guitar. I have also enjoyed performing singing
with the guitar around town to include my own art showings and Starbucks.
I now reside just south of Jacksonville in the Saint Johns community.
From an early age I was inspired by the classics; Gainsborough, Monet,
Winslow Homer, and Van Gogh. Growing up in Florida, I have fallen in
love with our beautiful skies, marshes, and wildlife. One of my current
series, Florida Horizons celebrates this desire to call attention to
the Florida that I grew up with, the Florida that is slipping away,
and the Florida that is around us everyday. Other current series are
Florida Fairways, The Heavens, Nancy Elizabeth and Pet Scans.
Most of my paintings are originals. I like the viewer to appreciate
the one of kind nature of my work in a world of prints and giclees.
I paint in acrylics and watercolors because of the versatility of the
medium. I like the immediacy of their purest form.
Artists block is not part of my vocabulary. There are never enough hours
in the day to work on my next project. What a great profession to have.
I am represented by eleven galleries along both coasts of Florida and
eighteen websites. A few of my past exhibitions include The Haskell
Gallery at the Jacksonville International Airport, The Cummer Museum
and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). A few of my future showings
include Scan Design, The Art Center, and The Thomas Center in Gainesville
and the courthouse in Hollywood Florida. More information can be found
on my website: www.asbellarts.com
I have had articles published about my life and my art in publications
such as SouthernLiving.com, the Florida Times Union, Folio, Arbus, The
Waters Edge, Naples News, Naples Magazine, The Florida Lupus Chapter
Newsletter, etc. Many of these articles have focused on how my health
has steered my career. After suffering a stroke and being diagnosed
with Lupus in 1996, I had to learn to paint and create music again.
I now live a full life from a wheel chair. One of my great desires is
to use my art to draw attention to the disease of Lupus. It is often
misunderstood and seldom given the funding or attention it warrants.
It is a joy to use my talents to benefit as many charities as I can
and inspire other artists to succeed. As a lupus survivor, I am an advocate
for lupus awareness and 10% of all my proceeds go to the Lupus Foundation
of America, Greater Florida Chapter. If lupus is my lemons, then my
artwork is my lemonade.
