Shela Goodman

Lilypads on the River, Oil Painting

2025

Artist Comments
A river scene unfolds with quiet vitality, alive with hidden movement. Frogs, bugs, fish, and tadpoles hide above and below the water's surface. Reeds and water lilies gather at the edges, framing the stillness with natural grace.

About the Artist
Artist Shela Goodman paints impressionist pastoral scenes with graceful refinement. Growing up on a farm in rural Arkansas, she nurtured her love for the beauty of nature. Shela captures these memories in harmonious displays of the environment around her. She was diagnosed with partial cone dystrophy, which closed off her periphery and deterred her ability to see. “In order for me to see a large painting in full, I have to take photos of it while it is in progress to see what the whole painting looks like,” shares Shela. The impairment of her vision only inspired her to paint what she can still perceive. She spent many years in Indiana and Michigan until she returned to Arkansas to care for her parents. Their unused living room became the perfect studio space for Shela, allowing her to grow her creative process while being available for her parents’ needs. As expected from a genealogy buff, she savors time spent with her family. Her other pastimes also include cooking and quilting. Various institutions in the United States have commissioned Shela’s highly favored work.

Words that describe this painting: waterlily, calm, river, wetland, grass, water, riverbank, grass, nature, realism, oil painting, blue

Lilypads on the River
Shela Goodman
Oil painting on stretched canvas
Painting wraps around edges
Varnished and Ready to hang
One-of-a-kind
Signed on front and back
2025
30 in. h x 40 in. w x 1.5 in. d
5 lbs. 0 oz.