Eleanor Goud

The natural forms found in the landscape have always uplifted me, even in uneasy times. The beauty of nature is generous and and humbling. There is an irresistible urge to capture and paint particles of its endless combinations and wonder.

I have enjoyed mixing abstract designs with flowers. It creates a different sensibility. My aim is to give a bit of joy to the viewer.

Artist History

I became fascinated by the dramatic shifting moods of nature when I lived in rural Maine for 12 years. As a result, I enrolled in the Portland School of Art in Portland, Maine (now called the Maine College of Art), graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in painting in 1990.

That year I moved to Massachusetts and started painting images of the local landscape. In May of 2006 I went to Sicily and Venice. There the Madonna lily caught my attention. It was highly prized in gardens throughout the Mediterranean going back to the Bronze Age. After a trip to Japan, I became fascinated by the ginko leaf and its possibility of floating and bringing joy.

It has been a source of amusement to find a reproduction of a Victorian dictionary describing the language and sentiment of flowers: “There is no color, no flower, no herb or weed, that has not a verse belonging to it; and you may quarrel, reproach, or send letters of passion, friendship, or civility, or even of news, without even inking your fingers.” So, I continued to explore the flower as a means to share beauty and delight.

Exhibitions

2023 Open Studios, Waltham, MA
2022 Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
2019 Open Studios, Waltham, MA
2019 Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
2017 Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
2016 Open Studios, Waltham, MA
2016 Concord Art, Concord, MA – Group Show
2015 Open Studios, Waltham, MA
2015 Waltham Walls, Waltham, MA
2014 The Room, Watertown, MA – Group Show
2014 Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA – Group Show
2013 Open Studios, Waltham, MA
2013 Cafe Nomad, Norway, ME
2013 Annual Regional Juried Show at the Newburyport Art Association, Newburyport, MA
2012 Mount Auburn Healthcare at Waltham, Waltham, MA – Group Show
2011 Lesley University, Cambridge, MA – The Dotted Pleasure Series
2010 Waltham Windows – window displays of local artists
2010 Discovering What’s Next, Newton Public Library
2009 Waltham Windows – window displays of local artists
2009 Attleboro Arts Museum – group show of flowers
2008 Bentley College, Waltham, MA – Group show (President’s house)
2008 The Painted Caravan, Johnson, VT – Group Show
2007 Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA – Group Show
2004 Brandeis University, Women’s Studies Research Center, Waltham, MA – Group Show
1999 Nielsen Gallery, Boston, MA – Summer Show, Group Show
1997 Nielsen Gallery, Boston, MA – Summer Show, Group Show
1996 Federal Reserve Bank Gallery, Boston, MA – Group Show
1993-2008 Annual Open Studios at the Waltham Mills Artists’ Association, Waltham, MA

Education

1990 Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree – Portland School of Art (Maine College of Art)
1972 Bachelor of Arts Degree – University of Colorado (Major in History)