21 Over 31 | Meadow Gist

By Bonnie Gangelhoff

Talk about dedication to authenticity: California painter Meadow Gist not only paints scenes from U.S. history, especially the era of the American Revolution, but she also sews all the costumes for her models. “It helps me relate to the times,” she says. In the past three years, Gist has made about 50 18th-century-style costumes. “Back then people created clothes that were works of art. The clothing is almost more stunning than the paintings from that period,” she says. Gist strives to find fabrics as close to those used in that time period as possible and uses only patterns from historical pattern houses. “I love America at the time of the revolution and the country’s independence,” she says. COLONIAL SHOEMAKER was inspired by a trip to Williamsburg, VA, where she became fascinated with a cobbler’s process of making shoes as well as with the image of shoes hanging in the shop window.

Gist studied art at Watts Atelier in Encinitas, CA, and teaches painting there today. She is represented by Willow Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, and www.meadowpaint.com.

Featured in our annual “21 Over 31” issue in November 2009