Mike Bevelaqua
by Beth Conahan
assistant news editor
Leslie Elizabeth Bowen lost someone very special to her. Her mother, Beryl Mae Bush died in January of 1967 of breast cancer, only two years after having a radical mastectomy.
Bowen was a freshman at Moore College of Art at the time. The loss hit her hard. Her mother and she were very close and the relationship they shared was special to her.
Bowen remembers her mother in a very special way.
Her new series of paintings, which opened in the Grace and Joseph Gorevin Fine Arts Gallery in the Holy Spirit Library this past Sunday, Nov. 12, is called “Remembering Teddy” and is in honor of her mother.
The paintings that lined the walls were a loving tribute to the mother she lost.
Bowen sees her series as a way of “confronting cancer through art.”
The second floor of the library was like a scrapbook of Bowen’s childhood and the love she and her mother shared.
There were many paintings of her and her mother sharing happy moments in strong colors and an array of textures. Many of the pieces, which were done in oil and mixed media, incorporated poetry into the work.
Many of the other paintings featured her mother alone, happy, healthy and smiling.
“Soft White Lady of My Heart” featured her mother in a cream-colored dress. The painting was done from a photo of her mother, which is also incorporated into this incredible work. And along the right side of the painting are smaller works done as snapshots of her and her mother sitting together. The colors, the textures, all of these aspects of her work project a warm loving memory of a woman she clearly held so dear to her heart.
“To me, this is the story of a woman with beauty, strength and intelligence who, due to ignorance and fear, lost her life. This series is much more than a portrait. It is a celebration and tribute to her life and our continued bond. She lives in me,” Bowen said of her mother.
The Grace and Joseph Gorevin Fine Arts Gallery will display Bowen’s series until Dec. 10.
