THERE’S A MUSICALITY TO PAINTING, A RHYTHM AND BALANCE THAT RESEMBLES the structure of a score. In both, tone, balance and notes all come together to achieve a cohesive piece, convey a message, begin a dialogue—establish a connection between artist and audience. It’s a similarity that anyone with a background in both art forms would recognize and lean into. For Juanita Bellavance, it’s second nature; her paintings are guided as much by rhythm and intuition as by color and form. “One of my favorite discoveries was realizing that there are only 12 notes in music and only 12 colors on the color wheel in art,” she says. “I find it incredibly interesting that profound, limitless possibilities arise from simply varying those 12.”
Such an intuitive, cross-disciplinary mindset traces back to her beginnings. Largely self-taught, Bellavance started her painting career in a roundabout way. “The first pivotal moment of my journey was meeting a muralist in Atlanta who showed me her portfolio,” she recalls. “She said she would tell me everything I needed to know to get started in painting decorative wall finishes, and I was so excited, knowing it was something I could do. I could have run out the door of the restaurant where we were meeting—even at that hour of the night—and started right at that moment. I painted decorative wall finishes for 10 years, thanks to her guidance.”
In a way, it was a return to her childhood, those formative years when Bellavance’s eyes were opened to the possibilities of art. In primary school, her favorite teachers had always integrated art and creativity into their curriculums. She experimented with the things she’d learned in class, but as much of a thirst for art as she had, it was inaccessible.
That childhood lack of access coupled with her experience painting decorative wall finishes drove Bellavance to become an art teacher herself. She spent many years working with children as an art teacher at local Montessori schools and at Forsyth County Parks and Recreation. It was this time that the artist credits for giving her the motivation to dive deeper into painting more professionally, most notably under the instruction of Chery Baird at Spruill Center for the Arts in Dunwoody, Georgia. In 2015, Bellavance committed fully to her fine art practice and began intensive study with many other artist instructors to hone her technique.
Such growth was fueled by her proximity to Atlanta’s art community. “Being based near Atlanta gave me access to excellent teachers and artist friends who have inspired me throughout my artist journey,” she says. “While I have no formal education in painting, it has given me the freedom to choose instructors who have stood out along the way, rather than studying under those chosen as part of a college’s defined curriculum. As a result, I have become much more independent in my style and preferences when I work.”
All of it led Bellavance toward the subject matter that defines her work today—the nature-inspired paintings that bear her trademark use of color and layering, peaceful interpretations that offer solace in a turbulent and noisy world. It’s no coincidence that she returns repeatedly to the natural world, a place she’s always found grounding and clarity. “I feel like the summers spent at my grandparents’ self-sufficient farm shaped my love of nature. The fresh food from the gardens, the flowers, the animals, the pastures of green and sitting in the barn loft, looking out over all these things in solitude. It was so refreshing compared to home, where there were buildings and people everywhere,” she says. “I try to achieve that same sense of well-being and peace in my paintings. When someone has an emotional response to one of my pieces, it is the ultimate reward. I love it when people pass by my work and I overhear them saying to each other, ‘I love this,’ or sometimes they pause and say, ‘That is so refreshing!’ It’s just a fringe benefit, but it’s one that motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing.”
As passionate as she is about nature—the landscapes, the wildlife, the tranquility of open air and limitless sky—Bellavance’s brush explores the feelings engendered by the natural world, rather than yielding a strict copy, offering a representational interpretation through marks, brushstrokes, colors and textures. Like all artists, she begins with a blank canvas—which, to Bellavance’s creative mind, is alive with potential, charged with energy, waiting for whatever concept she chooses. “Before any paint goes down, there’s always a beginning,” she says. “It’s quiet, loose and full of possibility.”
Starting with marks made using graphite and water-soluble media, Bellavance seals those initial marks with a clear medium to prevent them from smearing, preserving the integrity of her original thoughts, movements and energy. “It’s intuitive,” she says. “Messy in a good way. A way to start the conversation with the surface. Most people never see these layers, but they matter. They give the painting history and depth, even if it stays hidden. There’s power in what’s not seen. Sometimes, the most essential part of the process is the part no one notices.”
Intuition may start the conversation between artist and canvas. Bellavance doesn’t begin a piece with a clear objective beyond letting rhythm, harmony, color and texture guide her movements. “I often start with the same steps to create some chaos, which, in turn, gives me a sense of direction for the painting’s ultimate outcome,” she says. “I have no initial thoughts or ideas until these steps are completed. In my work, it is instinct that guides the direction of my piece, and the last few layers include intention. These layers create the interest, the depth and complexities—without them, it’s like a conversation with a child, straight and simple, without much nuance.”
Bellavance’s tendency toward abstraction is by design, as the style gives her more freedom in her interpretations without locking her into one way of doing things. “One of my greatest challenges was choosing one creative style—finding one with enough room for variety while staying within certain constraints,” she explains. “I have now settled on the style that does exactly that. Rather than depicting a specific place, I aim to capture a feeling—a sense of openness and quiet presence.”
Balance is key to any piece with Bellavance’s signature. The push and pull between energetic movement and tranquility is one that arises in each of her works, each vying for dominance before harmony is struck. “Until the tension between the two is resolved and equilibrium is created, I feel a sense of dissatisfaction with it,” she says. “When there are too many energetic marks, the calm disappears. By contrast, when there are no energetic marks, the calm falls flat and lacks any sort of dimension. There needs to be a balance between calm and energy.”
Ultimately, Bellavance’s works are more than the images on the canvas. They are compositions layered with movement that brings them to life, each mark built on the last, each color a note that brings harmony to the whole. Much like music affects its audience, every piece strikes a chord, reaches out to the viewer and invites an emotional response far beyond what they see with their eyes. *
Liesel Schmidt lives in Navarre, Florida, and works as a freelance writer for local and regional magazines. She is also a web content writer and book editor. Follow her on X at @laswrites or download her novels, Coming Home to You, The Secret of Us and Life Without You, at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
