Jennifer Bell

"Picasso, St Christopher and the Philosopher", men by the ocean fishing, boats

2025

Since summer 2004, I have lived in southern Italy, in the region of Puglia, the province of Bari, in a town called Altamura. A two-week restoration project of the Jesce Masseria brought me here. My plan after that was to set up an atelier in Paris and spend my days painting the pretty and elongated noses of the Parisians. Two weeks was all I planned to be in Altamura. I am drawn like love to this countryside where I live now. Olive trees are woven in the ochre-colored hills that extend from Altamura. The vista is a tapestry of silver and saffron threads, a palette of the subtle hues of a faded fresco. The air is perfumed by tomatoes drying in the sun and the fermenting juices pressed from the fleshy grapes. Underneath a lapis blue sky, the prehistoric looking "ferula" plant unfolds on the plains like a congregation of nomads crossing a desert. I sense this countryside has fought to survive. The land is raw, brutally honest, and as passionate as the works of Van Gogh. The people of Altamura are tireless workers and the gatekeepers of traditions. I am drawn to their vitality and passionate spirit. I am intrigued by their dark ebony eyes, antique profiles, beautifully weathered skin and stone chiseled hands. A subtle, caramel color saturates my canvases as I paint the very old and the very young - Il Viaggio dela Vita! My mother's family emigrated from northern Italy in the early nineteen hundreds. When they arrived in Canada, it took only three generations for my family's stories to fade and language to be lost. Here, I am discovering the soil that seeded my family. My Nonna (grandmother) would be so pleased to know that I am happy here...

Since summer 2004, I have lived in southern Italy, in the region of Puglia, the province of Bari, in a town called Altamura. A two-week restoration project of the Jesce Masseria brought me here. My plan after that was to set up an atelier in Paris and spend my days painting the pretty and elongated noses of the Parisians. Two weeks was all I planned to be in Altamura - that was a year ago. I am drawn like love to this countryside where I live now. Olive trees are woven in the ochre-colored hills that extend from Altamura. The vista is a tapestry of silver and saffron threads, a palette of the subtle hues of a faded fresco. The air is perfumed by tomatoes drying in the sun and the fermenting juices pressed from the fleshy grapes. Underneath a lapis blue sky, the prehistoric looking "ferula" plant unfolds on the plains like a congregation of nomads crossing a desert. I sense this countryside has fought to survive. The land is raw, brutally honest, and as passionate as the works of Van Gogh. The people of Altamura are tireless workers and the gatekeepers of traditions. I am drawn to their vitality and passionate spirit. I am intrigued by their dark ebony eyes, antique profiles, beautifully weathered skin and stone chiseled hands. A subtle, caramel color saturates my canvases as I paint the very old and the very young - Il Viaggio dela Vita! My mother's family emigrated from northern Italy in the early nineteen hundreds. When they arrived in Canada, it took only three generations for my family's stories to fade and language to be lost. Here, I am discovering the soil that seeded my family. My Nonna (grandmother) would be so pleased to know that I am happy here...

About the Artist A Rhode Island native, I earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Since then I’ve worked as a freelance artist, decorative painter, teacher and master paint...

Since summer 2004, I have lived in southern Italy, in the region of Puglia, the province of Bari, in a town called Altamura. A two-week restoration project of the Jesce Masseria brou...

Mediterranean Fishermen Returning to Shore – Spanish Impressionist Oil Artist: Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (Spanish, b. 1953) Title: Mediterranean Fishermen Returning to Shore Medium:...

Mediterranean Fishermen on Spanish Beach Post Impressionist Oil Painting Artist: Gabriel Casarrubios Martín Title: Mediterranean Fishermen on the Shore Medium: Oil on board Dimensio...

Mediterranean Beach Scene with Fishermen and Elegant Figures Oil Painting by the Sea Artist: Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (1953) Title: Mediterranean Beach Scene with Fishermen Medium...

Tending their Nets French School, contemporary oil on canvas 15 x 21.5 inches provenance: private collection, France The painting is in very good and presentable condition.