Painter and muralist Susan Bartlett Rice sits in her art studio at her South Bristol home on Thursday, June 6. Rice has been artistically inclined for as long as she can remember. The Lincoln Academy graduate’s murals are all over the New England coast and every fall, she paints a giant pumpkin for Damariscottas Pumpkinfest and Regatta. (Johnathan Riley photo)
Characters of the County: Painting Home with Susan Bartlett Rice ’91
by Johnathan Riley for The Lincoln County News
The beauty of Lincoln County lives in art all over the world, printed on paper, thrown into clay, and etched in the hearts of those who visit and call this place home. Susan Bartlett Rice, a painter and muralist living in South Bristol with her husband and two kids, has been capturing the textures and patterns of the Midcoast for most of her life.
“I could always draw and that was my thing, so I would keep sketchbooks,” Rice said. “I didn’t really start painting until college, but I always did art even as a child.”
New England residents have seen Rice’s art all over, from murals in Machias to pieces in Portsmouth, N.H. and painted giant pumpkins in Damariscotta’s Pumpkinfest and Regatta.
Rice typically paints her vibrant New England scenes on 30-by-30-inch canvas, but enjoys getting the opportunity to paint larger scale works due the full body involvement that’s demanded and the “loud” nature of the work.
“I think it’s kind of funny, because I think of myself as a kind of quiet,” she said.
Born in Plymouth, Mass., Rice moved to the area 35 years ago when she was a teenager and attended Lincoln Academy in Newcastle her junior and senior year. She said her family moved around a lot while growing up, but they came to the area because of friends and family that were here.
Rice said that she immediately felt a connection to the area and made friends at school, which cemented a place in her heart for Lincoln County.
Originally published June 24, 2024 in The Lincoln County News. Click on the link above to read the full article.
