Artist Profile: Belinda Settlemoir
In The Beginning:
My love of art was ignited when I was five years old. For my birthday, my dad brought home a box of eight Crayola crayons and a blank pad of paper. It is my understanding from the stories I was told, that from that day forward, I never left home without my box of crayons and my pad of paper, and by the end of the school year, every student in my class had a signed piece of my art including my first-grade teacher, Miss Mattie Lawrence. Throughout elementary school and into middle school my art continued with homemade birthday cards, decorations for every holiday, especially Christmas, and my favorite holiday, Halloween. When teachers assigned special projects and book reports, I was quick to break out my crayons, colored pencils, markers and tempera paint for added colorful illustrations.
On my 12th birthday, my dad gifted me with my first easel, set of acrylic paints, brushes and canvases. I created a landscape during that week that hangs proudly in my home today. My father was a talented musician, sculptor, and artist. Growing up we had many walks and talks, and he taught me valuable lessons on the importance of creating shapes through light and shadow, how trees and clouds can take on different forms, the many different colors water can take on the deeper the pool gets, and all the brilliant colors of a sunset. Even today I can still hear him ask, “What animal does that cloud look like to you?” Even though he is no longer with us, my father’s inspiration and encouragement are still with me today as I create.
So, with that said, you could say that my encouragement and inspiration for creating works of art stems from my family, teachers, friends, the place where I grew up, and complete strangers that commission my art.
The Early Years:
I remember an art professor once saying to me, when I had become frustrated with a piece that I was working on, “When life gives you lemons, paint them orange.” It took me a long minute to figure that one out. My style of art is majorly realism, so when my professor said to “paint the lemons orange,” I sort of cringed at the idea but wrote down his quote. Every time I would get a little frustrated, I would reread his words of advice and leave it up to my imagination to determine where to go next. It has taken me many years to realize that in art, perfectionism is not always key, and life can sometimes take you outside the box. While attending Western Kentucky University I was commissioned to complete several murals in private homes, and completed pen and ink renderings of the buildings created by Capt. Brinton B. Davis for Jonathan Jeffery’s book on local architects. While employed at Union Underwear, I was commissioned to design a prototype packaging of the very popular Underoos brand and completed a military banner that would go around the T-shirts that were shipped to the Army overseas.
My Life as an Artist Today:
Today I enjoy painting still life, landscapes and floral compositions, with landscapes being my favorite. I also do a lot of commissioned pieces of pets, homeplaces, and cityscapes. When creating these pieces, I like to use all mediums: pastels, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink as well as oil.
I grew up in the Richardsville and Anna community northwest of Bowling Green, where I still have family. I graduated from Warren East High School and Western Kentucky University. Upon graduation, I took a job at the newly established Boys & Girls Club in Rome, Georgia as the first woman Activity Coordinator, where, with a new program curriculum, art was at the top of my list. I left The Boys & Girls Club as Area Director of Polk County, Georgia.
I am now retired and back home in Bowling Green with my husband, Mark, where much of my time is spent in the studio (My Happy Place), where there is no clock, creating new pieces for upcoming art shows, organizing items for printing or finishing commissioned pieces.
I would be happy to have you check out my Instagram at belindagailfineart. Locally, I am a member of Artworks, Inc., a non-profit organization of artists and supporters working together to keep the visual arts alive in Bowling Green.
-submitted by the artist
