Born in Portland, Oregon, Kathleen (Krug) Bellows was raised in Cannon Beach, playing in the tide-pools around Haystack Rock.  She began her art studies at Los Angeles City College working as an assistant to her professors for several years.  Seascapes, still-life, and landscape painting dominated her style until she turned her style to figurative design realism; with a bent toward the whimsical.  After collecting art for many years, she had the chance to meet the renowned Howard Behrens, Manfred Kuhnert, and several other prominent artists in the San Diego area.    In 2008 she embarked on a new series of paintings, to be done in a consistent style whose inspiration goes back several years.

Lapithea Gallery has been set up to showcase these works which feature poses of sisters and girlfriends in extravagant gowns and stylized hair.  Their rich use of color with fragrant themes of serenity are drawn from inspiration of life with her five daughters. 

Kathleen's paintings frequently feature seated female figures wih simple furnishings but a busy embellishment of circles that seem to sometimes engulf them in effervescent bubbles.  Often there is a small array of birds and cats nodding and squacking accordingly.  Do the birds represent the cares of the world, while the girls' eyes tip in purposeful enjoyment of the moment in spite of the distraction?

The pieces are done in sizes from 9" x 12" acrylic on canvas panel, to 24" x 30" stretched canvas.  Shipping prices vary to reflect actual cost, and are sold unframed.  Of 80 pieces in the series, 36 are currently available.  Her work can be seen at the Olde Ramona Hotel Art Gallery, has been entered in several open-juried shows, and Kathleen is a member of the Ramona Arts Guild and the San Diego Visual Artists Network.

http://www.kathleenkbellows.com