Wanda Powell sold her first watercolor painting when she was only 16 years old. While taking art lessons in Rehoboth Beach, she sat along a pier and painted the image of a dry-docked boat. When a man approached her and asked her how much she wanted for it, she answered, “$2.50.”
Wanda Powell shows one of her watercolor paintings outside her residence in Ocean View. Powell’s artistic talent isn’t just limited to watercolor, as she has tried many things including, refinishing furniture.“I was so excited,” she recalled. “To me, that was a lot of money.” Pleased with her sale, she informed her art instructor, who was, not surprisingly, unenthused.
Decades later, Powell’s talent has kept her hobby alive and her modesty present. She spent 24 years as a medical secretary, and then went into real estate before retiring. But painting has always been her true calling.
“Art has always been one of my favorite things,” she said. “It’s always been very soothing and relaxing.” Her works line the walls of her house and in the homes of friends and family, and most are given as gifts.
From sunset scenes on the Rehoboth Bay to North Carolina lighthouses and portraits of family members and children frolicking along the beach, Powell has painted it all.
Some of her most recognized works, though, date back to more than 30 and 40 years ago, to the Sussex County of yore where she grew up.
Paintings of her original home in Millville, the Millville United Church and the former Winterbottom store (now home to Tri-state Coin and Firearms) are among some of the nostalgic pieces that hang on her living room wall.
A painting of a farmhouse — a building that once stood alone at the current site of the new Millville Town Center — rests on a wall in the hallway, capturing memories of the area long before the town ever heard the phrase “commercial development.”
“I like to paint the things I remember,” she said. “Before you know it, buildings and homes that stood here for years get wiped out, and we don’t have much to remember them by.”
In addition, her love of cooking and seafood has made its way to her canvas. Ripe tomatoes, as well as oysters, shrimp, muscles, clams and crabs, are portrayed around the kitchen. While she can sit on her porch and bring a small bouquet of flowers to life, most of her work is inspired from photographs she finds and those she takes herself. Beach scenes, marsh scenes and egrets are among her favorites to paint.
“I am not the greatest artist,” she said humbly. “I just have a good time with it.”
Powell’s knack isn’t restricted to the easel by any means, though. She frequents yard sales, looking for furniture, mirrors and other things to repaint and touch up. Acrylic ants climb up the leg of an end table on her patio and steal pieces of painted strawberries. A collection of old world Santas, painted on plywood, hang in her workroom.
She has even used her sense of humor in her work, painting a washboard and clothes line on cabinets, with arrows pointing to the washer and dryer for her husband’s reference.
“He didn’t think it was too funny,” Powell admitted fondly of her late husband. “He said he wasn’t that dumb. But I told him I was trying to help, since I had never seen him use either one.”
As a member of the Bethany Beach Watercolor Society, Powell said she is constantly learning something new.
Powell has painted many paintings in her life — these are but a small handful she had around the house.“We meet twice a month, and it’s actually a lot of fun, and helpful, too,” she said. “Most of the time, there are little things you can’t see yourself in your own paintings. It’s also a great way to pick up a lot of new ideas.”
She has been described as a “tight” watercolor artist by her colleagues, who tell her that she could paint a picture using a brush with two bristles. “Most watercolor artists can just let the brush flow across the paper,” she said. “I don’t know — I get drawn into the detail of my pictures. That’s what really attracts me.”
It’s hard to believe that, although she has lost count of the number of paintings she has completed, painting is not the only thing that envelops her life.
Since her husband passed from a long battle with cancer, she said she has always wanted to keep herself occupied.
“There’s always something in the yard or kitchen waiting to be done,” she said.
Powell holds her family close, as portraits of her two children — daughter Carol Hurley and late son Billy, who served as a Bethany Beach lifeguard captain — rest in her living room. Painting has seemed to keep her mind level throughout her life.
“I don’t do it for recognition or to make money,” she said. “It’s just something I love to do.”
When in the right mood, it’s not uncommon for her to start and complete a painting in one day.
Powell had always been fascinated by different crafts and artistic hobbies. She remembers her mother’s needlework skill, hanging her cross-stitching pieces in the kitchen. Powell, herself has attempted countless projects, including sewing, wall-stenciling, rug-making and furniture caning. She has several collections, as well, with pewter in her dining room and copper in her kitchen. An assortment of watering cans hang on her patio wall.
“You name it, I’ve tried it,” she said. “I’m always finding new crafts to try. I like to keep myself busy. I guess I don’t know when to quit.”
A collection of artwork from members of the Bethany Beach Watercolor Society will be displayed and sold at their annual public exhibit at the South Coastal Library, located at 43 Kent Avenue in Bethany Beach.
The exhibit, which also features invitation artwork by Anne Hanna, will be held on Friday, May 25, from 4:30 p.m. until 7 p.m,. and on Saturday, May 26, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. A reception will be held that Friday, as well. For more information, call the South Coastal Library at (302) 539-5231.