Refraction by Gail Bessette 44J

Gail Bessette

In college, at St. Lawrence University in Upstate New York, I studied Art History and lived in an Arts and Craft house. My pursuit of an art career, however, was delayed by my MBA and the birth of my children. When my youngest reached school age, I began working in watercolor which I continued to explore by experimentation until I started studying with Lin Xia Jiang who turned my focus toward the more opaque mediums of oil and pastel. I entered juried shows, first locally, then regionally and eventually nationally. I received numerous awards and had galleries representing me in places such as Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cape Cod, New Hope, Bronxville and Lake Placid. I had many group and solo shows and was featured in New American Paintings, a juried exhibition in print. In 2009, my husband and I bought a home in Sedona and have divided our t ime between Sedona and the Adirondacks. Though partially retired, I did not stop making art but entered in to a new phase of creation, drifting from primarily oil and pastel landscapes to more abstract works in various mediums including cold wax, encaustic, mixed media and collage. I have been exhilarated and refreshed by meandering from the business aspects of my carrier into a situation where I create for pleasure and fulfillment without the pressure related to the commercial environment.