Biography
Rowena Sandford (b. 1947) grew up in Dublin, NH.  She has a great love for nature, having spent most of her childhood outside, looking up at Mt. Monadnock, roaming through meadows and woods, and beside brook and swamp.  She had a big fascination for studying the clouds as they moved overhead.  At home and at school she was always doing artwork which won reviews and various awards and contests.  After graduating from high school she studied with the Norman Rockwell Famous Artists School in Westport, Connecticut.

In 1972 she began painting full time outside in nature.  She studied under George Carpenter of Ogunquit, ME, and opened her own Moods of Maine Gallery (1972-1977) in Wells, ME, and a couple of years later, the Gallery (1974-1977) in Kennebunkport, ME.  During this time she exhibited in various group shows such as the Ogunquit Art Center, North Shore Art Association, Hudson Valley Art Association, National Miniatures Art Show, Eatons Foyer-des-Arts and Colbert Gallery in Montreal.  She still paints Maine scenes from her boxes of studies, six years of daily paintings on location, and her love of Maine.

In 1978, Rowena married and moved to Trout Lake, WA, where she continued to paint plein-air and raised three children.  She opened Gallery of the Mountains and also exhibited her work in local galleries including Columbia Gallery in Hood River, OR and The Dalles Art Center in The Dalles, OR, and at White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach, OR.

In 2003 she returned to Maine to care for her mother who had Dementia/Alzheimer’s.  She studio painted daily during that time.

She was also in the jurored shows at River Tree Center for the Arts, Kennebunkport, Maine, Landmark Gallery in Kennebunkport, and she was a member of Maine Women in the Arts, exhibiting in their shows.

In 2008, she returned to Washington.  Now, Rowena’s work is displayed at Columbia Gallery in Hood River, Oregon and at The Dalles Art Center, The Dalles, Oregon, and her home gallery in Trout Lake, WA. You may message her for an appointment.

My Philosophy of Painting
As Robert Henri stated, art is a means of living a life, not a means of making a living.  I believe in painting on location whatever subject matter strikes a response within me.  The painting should capture my emotions and reactions to the beauty of the scene that I have chosen.  It should be painted with fresh, clear, deliberate brush strokes that do justice to the lighting, color and design of the subject.  The viewer should feel as if he were right there, with a sense of awe.  Far too many people in a rush to get somewhere and get something done, miss out on the beauty that is all around us.  As we stop to notice the beauty of God’s creation, we absorb the serenity of nature.  We have much to learn, and the answers come at such times.

Why Do I Paint?
I paint most often out in nature because I love nature.  I grew up with mountain, woods, brook, meadows and swamp as my backyard.  I spent as much time as possible outside.  So, later in life, when I started painting (1968, age 21), it was from nature that I drew my subject matter.

In 1972, I started painting outside full-time.  For the next 6 years, I went up and down roads along the Coast of Maine, painting all day, outside.  I looked for peace and simplicity, with lighting often doing dramatic things.  When you are out there, every day, you recognize the unusual and rare moments.  I love the varying moods of nature.

I love the Columbia River Gorge, majestic Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams, the quaint farms with rolling foothills behind, and the stately tall trees.  When I get back to the ocean, I paint dune grass and beach scenes.

I learned to paint fast, to try and capture the scene before the lighting changed.  I find it exhilarating work.  My emotions are stirred with the colors and the beauty of the scene.  This emotion comes through onto the canvas.  I paint it as it hits me.  One year after another.

To record on canvas a couple hours in time — preserving the colors and lighting and forms for others to see who did not happen upon that spot when I did.  There are so many questions to be answered and insights to receive and wisdom to be gained.  When one is quiet and at peace outside in Nature, God speaks.  He is out there and He is not silent.  That is why I paint.  It is my gift, my mission in life.