Born late in life to farming parents in August 1921, Annabelle Ross-Vandemark entered the world when America’s economy was booming. Little did she know how the course of her life would change in the years to come: The Great Depression of 1929 hit the agricultural sector hard. Prices plummeted, farmers couldn’t pay on their loans, and banks foreclosed, regardless of the collateral. In addition, parts of the nation were hit with a devastating drought that became known as the Dustbowl. Just like qualified teachers, engineers and mechanics who were traveling the nation in a desperate search for work, her father, Sherman Ross also had to uproot his family often during the lean times. Since Ross was a farmer by occupation, his knowledge and experience provided him with shared business opportunities that enabled him to not only support his family, but also continue in his chosen career path.

     “Today I know we were poor, but the life skills I was taught never made me sad for not having my artistic needs fulfilled in my youthful years. I just put them on my back burner and kept my eyes and ears open for those times,” said Annabelle.

     Prior to her graduation from Paulding, Ohio High School in 1939, Annabelle attended nine different schools in 12 years due to her father’s work assignments. Although art education was not present, she always liked to draw. However, to fuel her inner passion, she found a niche in creating scenes for poster advertising athletic events. “They got me a free ticket to the games!” she said. To add to her creative fulfillment as well as take advantage of then-opportunities, she took her newfound artistic recognition, along with her inherited fraternal entrepreneurial-ship, and began making farm signs to earn money. Being the baby of the family, and nearly 20-30 years apart in age from her brother and sister, “I suppose I got more than my fair share of TLC from my parents,” she said. Because her father was a strong influence in her life, she spent not only countless hours working by his side, but also in the outdoors that fulfilled that love. In hindsight, she believes her rural and farm upbringing wasn’t a hindrance to “not getting much encouragement to do artwork,” however became to serve as an experienced visual knowledge base in her future artworks.

     After graduation from high school, she wanted to go into the nursing field, but was persuaded by her mother to choose a more traditional life. However, she did take a job funded by the government in the laboratory at an area hospital where she worked about two years. Also during this time, she fell in love and married a farmer. Her life became similar as in her younger years with her very active participation in the farm operations. Some of them were: the twice-a-day milking of over 50 Ayrshire cows, the planting and harvesting of crops on 140 acres, and all the other related agricultural tasks while raising four children, Debra, Keaton, Marsha and Larry. “Needless to say, I had no time to feed my creativity side. But when I did have an unexpected break, it was hard for me to stay focused knowing what I had to do next, and it became an internal tug-of-war, “she said. Additionally, she found it necessary to keep her daily life flowing because of her strong commitment to her family’s needs.

     When that empty-nest syndrome happened, Mrs. Vandemark still put aside her schoolgirl passion to paint, and at age 50, entered practical nursing school. Graduating with top honors, she began working for an area hospital, but the “itch only lasted seven years. It started to take its toll because I was on my feet so much,” she said. However, her care giving skills began long before she obtained her medical certification. She took care of a daughter until almost her 21st birthday. “Marsha had cerebral palsy. When I was carrying her, the medication I took for nausea affected her brain-motor skills system,” said Annabelle. Concurrently, her husband’s motor neuron disease surfaced when he was 45. “Before my husband was admitted to the Van Crest Nursing Center in 2004, I tended to all his needs and wants.” They were a couple-on-earth for almost seven decades before his passing in 2006.

     While balancing the home care she gave to her loved ones, she took a few art classes and an occasional workshop at the Lima Art Association. “I finally started getting serious about my painting in 1983,” she said. She took a workshop conducted by the late Edgar Whitney, sometimes considered the “father of contemporary water coloring.” As time went on, “I’m not satisfied unless I’m learning so I started to take other workshops,” she said. Some of those were by other noted watercolorists, Mario Cooper and his wife Dale Myers, Frank Webb and Zulton Zaboo. Also taking what she learned, she passed her knowledge on by teaching classes at various places, such as, ArtSpace Lima, Ford Motor, Lima Baptist School, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, and in her home studio.

     In 1986, when retirement is on most people’s minds, Mrs. Vandemark life travels took another direction. She founded The Lima Area Watercolor Society. “I recall our first meeting. Don Getz, now then president of the Ohio Watercolor Society was our first demonstrator. We had nearly 175 people in attendance. When I look back, I could only imagine an outcome from one month to the next,” said Annabelle. Over the years, the watercolor society has attracted many artists well-known nationally and internationally to conduct their workshops, such as, Tom Lynch, Tony Couch, Nita Leland, and an extensive long line of others besides Karen Benedetti, David Cordas, Pat Rayman, Sharon Stolzenberger, who have been recognized for their unique talents in the region.  Although today the organization membership is not as large as in the beginning, its central purpose has not changed: “the promotion and support of high standards of watercolor painting in the Lima area.”

     Vandemark’s own paintings have won countless to awards and hang in churches, schools, law and medical offices, hospitals, museums, city buildings, banks, private homes as well as foreign countries. The artist’s watercolors of rustic countryside landscapes are more than a reflection of her youthful years during a once harsh period of life. The viewers bring the subjects to life – they are drawn within – following one or several life forms stroll up a country lane. Annabelle continues to surround the viewers with the mood of the scene that reveals an abundance of nature’s beauty, being, splashes of color with a range from subtle to striking, and casts of sunlight streaming through dominant towering trees. Her use of shades of blues and grays enable the viewer the feel of the outside temperature.

     At 89, Annabelle Ross Vandemark said, “I strive to be as active as I can in my own work, LAWS and various other art organizations,” however she has come to realize of all her teachers, regardless of her late introduction to the art world, she believes, “When I think about it, my father was a painter, but he used soil and seeds.”