About the Artist

Felicity Sidwell’s impressionistic paintings express her delight in the colors of the landscape of the many places she has called home. From the coast of Maine to Pennsylvania farmland, from the familiar English countryside of her childhood to her travels amongst the rich red rocks of Utah and the deserts of the South West. Felicity is always finding patterns of color in her surroundings that she loves to share in her art.

 

Growing up in an English village, then living and working in London the move to the United States with her husband's work in 1971 was a life changing experience. For over thirty years they lived in an old farmhouse in Newtown, Connecticut where she had a studio, was active in SCAN, the Artists Guild in Newtown, participated in two artists' cooperatives, and  had a number of one woman shows.

While her three boys were young Felicity painted in watercolors, she also raised sheep for their wool which she spun into yarn and sold eggs at the local food co-op from her free range chickens.

By 2000 Felicity was doing weekly summer, outdoor shows with her watercolors on Cape Cod as a member of the Eastham Painters Guild.

The move to midcoast Maine in 2006 was a definitive time in Felicity's art career, as the strength of her impressionist style developed. After many years as a watercolorist, she turned almost exclusively to oils, preferring to work outside, en Plein air, to capture the colors and special light of the coast. Of influence during this period was painting with the Plein Air Painters of Maine and the "Thursday Group" of painting friends, who gave each other critiques and support as their work and friendships evolved. For five years Felicity also ran a successful gallery where she sold her work at her summer cottage in the little fishing village of West Point, Phippsburg, ME.

On moving to Gettysburg, PA in 2016 Felicity painted and exhibited with the Susquehanna Plein Air Painters, the Mountain Valley Plein Air Painters and another Thursday Group, the Plein Air Painters of the Hanover Arts Guild and also exhibited work in Carlisle at CALC.
It was while living in Pennsylvania that she discovered the excitement of working in pastels.

After her husband’s death, the Pennsylvania property became increasingly harder to take care of, so in September 2023 she made yet another move.  Felicity now lives in West Bend, Wisconsin close to her youngest son, Dan and delights in the company of her two little granddaughters.

She is happy to have become a part of the Cedarburg art community where her work can be seen at the Cedarburg Cultural Center

 

 

Silvermine School of Art, New Canaan CT

1972-1990 studied with various instructors/artists

Key influences:

Anthony Dimeglio - oil painting, taught me to look very carefully at the nuances of color variation on a surface.

Norman Nilsen - color theory

Hannah Ferrenbach - watercolors

 

1992-1998 Wooster School of Art, Danbury CT

Alexander Shundi - drawing, design, art history, oil painting

Susan Ferri - abstract art, surrealism, Plein Air oil painting

 

KEY INFLUENCES VIA WORKSHOPS

Charles Reid - watercolor

Judy Wagner - plein air watercolor

Gail Sauter - designing with color temperature

Eric Aho - abstraction of plein air landscape

V. Vaughn - capturing rapidly changing light effects at dawn and dusk

Scott Christensen - Plein air landscape and the importance of designing with value

Camille Przewodek- Colorist theory

Mary Mendela - cold wax abstract work

Linda Benton McCloskey- abstract oil and cold wax paintings

 

GALLERIES

Richard Boyd Art Gallery, Peaks Island, Portland, Maine

While living in PA:

Carlisle Arts Learning Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Hanover Area Arts Guild, Hanover, Pennsylvania

The Foundry, Chambersburg PA

 

SOLO SHOWS

Sidwell Art Gallery

Bayview Gallery, Brunswick ME (with 3 other artists)

Richard Boyd Art Gallery, Peaks Island, Portland ME

Scarlet Begonias Cafe, Brunswick, Maine

Carleton Realty, Bath, Maine

Clementine's , Brunswick, Maine

The Two Mary Ellens, Bath, Maine

Eastham Painters Guild, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Fine Line Art Gallery, Woodbury ,Connecticut

Bethel Arts Junction, Bethel, Connecticut

Barbel, New Canaan, Connecticut

Felicity has also had work in numerous group shows over the years

 

AWARDS

Hanover Area Arts Guild, Hanover, PA. Best in Show Nov 2017, honorable mention 2021

Ridgefield Art Association, Ridgefield CT

Richter Art Association, Danbury CT

Trumbull Art Association, Trumbull, CT

 

MEMBERSHIPS

Cedarburg Artists Guild

American Impressionist Society

Oil Painters of America

Cedarburg Cultural Center