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Older Works

Each gallery is a scrolling slide show, which crops the images. CLICK ON THE IMAGE to see the whole thing, and to be able to read the associated text more clearly.

Blue Period
2007 - 2010


Duality, personal evolution, and experimentation with materials are common themes at this time.

 

These peices are an intermeshing of acrylic, oil paint, printmaking, sewing, and varied canvas surfaces, such as denim.

 

It's funny to look back on things like this and suddenly see yourself so clearly. In the years since painting these, I have grown, and lived more, and looked, and become more alive. ...Which seems to be exactly what I was asking for.

Forest Spirit
2004 - 2013
 

A forest deity effigy created of organic offerings, found and collected over the years. These photographs document a completion of the project, nearly 10 years after the effigy's birth.

 

To read the story, scroll through the photos: a sentence or partial sentence is offered up with each picture.

 

Double click the image to view the slideshow uncropped. View the whole slide show to receive the full telling.

 

Photography by Joe Sneep and Candace Bell, 2013.

Dis/Connect
2007 - 2008

This series is a single portrait of humanness. The base of each piece is the same: a print of a life-sized woodcut, such that the series can be read as a portrait of one woman having different experiences. Yet the eyes of each are painted from a different model, allowing each piece to be read individualistically. The eyes are painted shut, dreaming, and these dreams can be seen, floating above their heads. The dream imagery is contrasted with the image drawn over their hearts, which may or may not compliment the other. The disconnect between what they dream of and what they carry in their hearts is a literal one, with each being on a separate canvas. The relationship between the images reveals a range of contentment. At some point, we all experiences at least a moment of each of these different emotions and stages. Life is a bumpy cycle that we cannot help but participate in.

Branches Up/Roots Down
2004 - 2005

 

I think there is so much beauty in the twisted, gnarled roots that rise above the earth, hinting at their depths and rugged strength, anchoring such expansive, stately beauty – powerfully large trees that speak of time: so much time witnessed, and borne with grace. Once tender tendrils reaching down, down, down, these delicate shoots are still searching somewhere deep beneath my feet. At the surface, the thickened arms claim space and capture shadows, moss-covered and intricately entwined.

 

Most of these are painted from photographs of fig trees, taken in Australia.

© 2024 by Candace O Bell. All rights reserved.

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