ELEANOR BOUNOUS, WATERCOLORIST:

 A MEMORIAL EXHIBIT 

     When Eleanor Bounous first came to Monterey, MA in 1969 she had already been painting in watercolors for many years.  While on a sunday drive with her husband Gene from Armonk, New York they came upon Partridge Hill and fell in love with the carpet of tiny spring flowers blooming under a grove of slender bowing birches. The view from high on the hill, looking through the evergreens to Lake Buel in the background later became inspiration for her work. Purchasing the property from Mr. Graybeal they became weekend fixer uppers. Eleanor carted her children, her beloved cats, books and paints until she and Gene retired to Monterey in 2002.

     Although sketching and painting since childhood, growing up in Yonkers New York her formal training happened in tandem with raising a busy family. She attended Pace University, NY and Silvermine Art School, New Canaan CT, as well as studying under many artists such as Edgar Whitney,  Franklin Jones, Claude Croney and others.

     Monterey's serene and secluded nature reflected her own personality and approach to her life and her work.  She preferred painting landscapes and studies in delicate flowers. Among her various recognitions and awards are those received for her watercolors of Queen Ann's lace earning her a place in the juried Hudson Valley Art Association and winning the Dine's Carlson award from the Kent Art Association.

     Eleanor's paintings have been on exhibit in shows throughout the Berkshires including Welles Gallery, Lenox, Westenhook Gallery, Sheffield, Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield and in New York and Connecticut.  She is remembered saying of her own work, "the motivation for my painting is something very much internal. I am driven by the totally relaxing sensation of watercolor on paper. Stretching the medium to see what else the watercolors can do for me is an exhilarating challenge."

     This show at the Knox Gallery is in memoriam with its proceeds going to support the Monterey Library Building Fund, a giving back to Monterey, a place that had brought Eleanor Bounous beauty, comfort and contentment.

—Eleanor Rochman