Artists I Love - Laura Coombs Hills
A friend recently shared a painting of artist Laura Coombs Hills with me. I loved what I saw so I did what we do in the age of the internet, I Googled her. Usually when you Google an artist there is a limited supply of images with the same ones repeating, but in the case of Laura Combs Hill page after page of richly colored florals and delicate portraits scrolled by. She was supremely talented, prolific, and successful in her time and deserves better recognition.
Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, she went to Boston to study art. She originally made a name for herself painting miniature portraits on ivory that were highly valued by collectors and critics. She was so successful that she built her own house in Newburyport.
Later in life, when her eyesight was failing and the miniature portraits fell out of favor, she turned to pastel painting the flowers that she grew in her garden. These too became popular with collectors and Coombs Hill continued her life as a successful artist. Even during the depths of the Depression, her flower paintings sold-out at galleries. It is these floral pastels that I want to share with you. While her portraits are lovely, her pastel floral paintings are at a different level. They are a celebration of beauty through color and design that feels joyful and timeless.
I recently returned from a trip out east where I taught a pastel color/landscape workshop to the Pastel Society of Connecticut. It was a talented and enthusiastic group and I deeply appreciate being invited out to teach. After the workshop I went to the hometown (Newburyport, MA) of Laura Coombs Hill to visit my art buddy Karen Blackwood. We did a daytrip into Boston to visit the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Gardner Museum. In one day we saw so many paintings that have been on my bucket list to see in real life. It was a visual feast of works by Sargent, Homer, Zorn, and Monet. The nuance of brushwork and color is lost in print and there is so much to learn by seeing the work in person.
Now I am back in the studio filled with inspiration, finishing up a portrait commission and preparing for upcoming workshops in Port Huron, Michigan and Florence, Italy. I hope these images of Ms. Hills work inspire you and if you need an extra dose of inspiration visit a museum or gallery.
