Author: Bessesdotter

Alison Bessesdotter is an artistic autodidact and intuitive artist. Born a Bucks County artist, Alison grew up along the banks of the Delaware River in rural Pennsylvania. As a child she developed a lifelong interest in the meticulous observation of nature which continues to inspire her artwork. She is respectful of tradition but works with an iconoclastic streak experimenting with various mediums. Her works have been described in the press as “improvisational: worlds of magic, euphoria and enchantment.” Currently, Alison maintains a studio in Reigate where she founded Bell Street Artists in 2021. Bessesdotter also has over a decade of expert experience in selecting and hanging over a dozen exhibitions annually for other artists and groups. Until 2019 Bessesdotter was a Resident Artist for 7 years at the Banana Factory, a community arts centre in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Alison served as a Visual Arts Board member of ArtsQuest and was on the Music Committee. Alison was the administrator of a Livestrong grant to bring art classes to people with cancer living in the local community. Alison managed The Bessesdotter Verksted from 2010-2013. She performed tasks such as curator, membership coordinator, publicity chair and juror for regional art organisations including The Salemme Foundation and The Allentown Art Museum. Prior to this Alison maintained a studio at home and was a member of the Spirit Square printmaking cooperative studying lithography with Tamarind Printmakers. Bessesdotter holds a Degree in Technology and Computer Science. Bessesdotter has received the ArtPop Billboard Award in 2018, a LiveStrong Grant in 2014-2015, the Pittsburgh Watercolour Painting Prize 2013 and Lehigh Art Alliance Prize 2011 and 2012. Alison’s artworks are in private and corporate collections.
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Celebrate

Moon and Stars over the Lake.
Moon and Stars over the Lake.

Celebration of the 4th – this was painted from a memory of a decade of the 4th celebrations spent by the lake in Galeton, PA. The town has one of the best firework displays every year. We sat on blankets lakeside in the dark and find ourselves dotted with ashes when the show was over. Yes – we were that close. A resounding echo of the booms from the fireworks was softened by the forests. The view was spectacular, ink black mountains posed against the smokey twilit sky, the fireworks extensive and bold, reflected in the dark still water of the cold mountain lake. Wherever you celebrate enjoy the splendor of the summer. To my Banana Factory friends and colleagues have a safe and wonderful holiday under the stars!

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Love your work?

Stitched Series. High Grasses. 15
Stitched Series. High Grasses. 15″ x 22″ Watercolor and Thread.

Do you really love what you do? I hear people say they love their jobs. I believe that because I am an artist I should not have an art related job. Avoidance of art related work has been my goal throughout my life so far. Its a personal choice of course–many artists take on work as administrators, teachers and other art related jobs that I have no interest in. Recently going through another period of growth I’ve come to realize that I was correct and working in an art related area is not for me. In the past I’ve chosen to have a myriad of jobs that are not art related. I was a grower in a greenhouse–a job I liked a lot–but we didn’t use a lot of pesticides like many greenhouse companies. I have worked in offices–that was the least favorite of my jobs because being inside the sterile buildings isn’t as much to my liking. But the actual work itself was fine. Retail–I had a short stint in retail at a Costco, when they promoted me to work in their vault and staff their EDP. Working at Costco was a great–they have high standards, fairness and equality are important, teamwork is vital, they take employees ideas seriously and pay above standard wages. Beekeeping–a real challenge in this time of colony collapse and serious pests and disease–was one of my favorite types of work. I owned about 60 beehives while I was starting up an organic flower farm. It was all very hard physical work, but the sales were fun and easy and meeting people was a wonderful part of the job.

But being an artist is not my job. The Artist. It is who I am. Not what I do. The paintings and other things I create are part of a universal truth. I know people intrinsically understand it and that is why they are drawn to the work, they crave owning it, staring at it, holding it–as if peering into the soul of the universe.

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Up To Scratch

20140406-123349.jpgI never gave much thought to a mission statement for myself as an Artist. Then a friend sent me an email about taking a class about defining a mission statement and suddenly it made sense. We should have a mission statement–even for your life or family, maybe they can change. But keeping true to it can be a considerable effort. I can think of several non-profits and corporations that fail to come up to scratch. My mission statement is now on the table–and I don’t know what its going to be–but crafting it will be fun yet challenging. This is part of the growth of my art and the impact it will have on history. The devilish bit is making sure its a mission I can live up to!

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Award Winning Baroque Love

A favorite work of my art for many people, “Baroque Love Glisters Molten Gold” won another award last night. It always feels pretty darn good to be recognized by my peers and not only to be juried into a show but to win an award. Feeling grateful. This is a small detail of the work.

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Photographing Artwork

I look forward to this event more than most tasks concerning the business of art. Yesterday morning I was able to spend several hours collaborating with my photographer Ken Ek who makes my art look the best it possibly can. We met about 2 years ago and he started photographing my textile art and watercolors. Every time I complete a series the first thing I do is have Ken come into the studio. First I cannot say enough good things about Ken, his work ethic is exemplary and his skill set is varied, he has a great eye for color and finds creative ways to place the work in its setting to show it to best advantage. He is not just a technical wizard but a creative one too.

The new flower series, Bloemen, was done yesterday with a few pieces of miscellany thrown in for good measure. Working with Ken is such an inspiration that I am starting a new series of prints that will be photographed soon and I am planning on having him work on the older prints from my early years as a printmaker. Documenting art is something I don’t take for granted, its one of the most important tasks associated with my business. If you are fortunate enough to be close to KenEk Photography by all means call him soon and make plans to have your work photographed. But where ever you are find a good photographer and have your art documented.

On another note, I also use several online servers to preserve the photos for future reference. I don’t use hard media anymore, but I do have external storage drives that I can back up to if needed. Stay tuned to see the new work photographed properly and my website updated in blooming color.

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Brick by brick

“When there is brick wall in front you there are many other ways to get where you want to go.”  One of the best pieces advice given to me over 30 years ago by a good person I worked for. Brick by brick…or not at all? Let others hold the brick wall up, leave the bricks behind, build a wall with a door, follow the other brick road…all the choices before me.

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Dreaming flowers

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I changed my cover pic on Facebook this morning to a cropped photo of a recent floral painting. A friend, Bathsheba Monk commented on how much she likes my flower binge that I’m on lately. I like it–Flower binge! Bathsheba is a writer of course. Brandishing words about is her talent.
I’m out of the studio on business today which will provide some necessary rest from painting. I’ve been working 15 hour days painting and then dreaming about more paintings. The dreams are detailed and colorful – they are film-like and deeply moving. In the dreams I’m brushing lush color…working patterns and scumbling, dry brushing and layering glazes. This an exciting creative adventure! An abundance of colors and techniques are already in my mind. I can continue to pick from the dream field and paint this ongoing series of vivid fresh blooms.

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Rainy day blooms

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I am painting flowers this spring – Tuesday it rained all day, the cool spring rain that soaks the earth and makes a muddled grey light to paint by. I opened the blinds, let all the grey in and painted a soft yellow tulip in the mist. Its still sitting on the easel in the photo.