Bec Bookwalter
My Story
A dreamer with a camera in one hand and a paintbrush in the other.
Hi, I’m Rebecca, but you can call me Bec.
For me, creating is as essential as breathing and a vital way to release emotions and ideas when language is not enough. Some of my work arrives softly like a gentle breeze, and other pieces arrive dramatically like a torrential thunderstorm, but each is an authentic expression of my life. This is my story.
Growing up in northern Pennsylvania with a river in my backyard and summers spent in northern Vermont, my earliest memories are of wandering barefoot, closely observing ladybugs and fireflies, and collecting rocks and seashells. I loved helping my mom tend the flower gardens in our backyard, where the blooms were framed by views of the river and mountains beyond. The sunlight through petals, the shimmer of water, and the patterns in nature all inspired me.
I didn’t know it then, but those quiet hours surrounded by petals, stones, and shifting light were shaping how I see the world and how I would one day translate it into art.
I began creating art as a child, exploring with whatever materials I could get my hands on. I filled sketchbooks with observations and fanciful creations, spent hours coloring, and later carried a camera everywhere to capture the details I found fascinating. The first time my mom let me use her film camera, I eagerly staged a photo shoot with my favorite doll, completely captivated by the idea that I could preserve a moment forever.
Wanting to hold on to beautiful things, I pressed flowers in books and collected textural seashells and colorful rocks. Over time, I developed a deep appreciation for how art can hold emotion, tell stories, reveal subtle details, and preserve fleeting moments.
Art became a refuge, a private language of color, texture, and form.
As I grew, so did my curiosity. My creative journey led me through drawing, photography, painting, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, design, and many other creative disciplines. Each new medium became another way to explore ideas, express emotions, and tell stories without needing words.
There were seasons when creating looked very different from what I had imagined. Chronic illness forced me to slow down, adapt, and rethink what it meant to be an artist. Rather than ending my creative practice, it transformed it. I learned to work more intuitively, to honor my energy, and to embrace a slower, more deliberate rhythm of making. In many ways, those changes deepened my relationship with art.
Creativity became my quiet, resilient force, allowing me to adapt and thrive through life’s challenges.
For most of my life, I assumed everyone experienced imagination the way I did. I later learned that the vivid inner world I had relied on throughout my life has a name: multisensory hyperphantasia. Discovering this rare cognitive trait helped me understand why imagination has always felt less like inventing something entirely new and more like exploring a place that already exists. That rich inner landscape, paired with my lifelong love of the natural world, continues to guide everything I create.
I aim to create work that feels both familiar and dreamlike, rooted in nature, yet touched by imagination.
Flowers remain at the heart of my work. They are a constant source of inspiration, joy, and hope. They are vibrant, fragile, and resilient all at once. As Monet said, “I must have flowers, always, and always.” Whether I’m arranging fresh blooms in my home, sketching petals in the afternoon light, or painting flower-inspired abstracts, they remind me that beauty blooms in every season, even the difficult ones.
Today, I create from my bright home studio in South Central Pennsylvania, surrounded by plants, flowers, and the ever-changing light that pours through the windows. For me, creating remains a deeply immersive process of self-discovery, self-expression, and connection. My work is as much about your story as it is about mine. I invite you to explore my portfolio, read my studio journal, and connect with the artwork growing here.
A Few Things About Me:
🌿I'm a nearly 6-foot-tall nature-lover who would rather be barefoot despite my love of footwear.
🌷My happy place is surrounded by flowers and plants.
🍵 Fueled by Earl Grey tea and Matcha lattes.
🚀 I love British comedies, classic mysteries, and epic sci-fi. (“I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar.” 🍃😭)
📚 I'm a lifelong bookworm who rereads favorite stories until they feel like memories.
🗣️ I talk to animals, and strangers often share their life stories with me. I love that.
🔍 I'm endlessly fascinated by the little details that most people overlook.
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
— Claude Monet
Discover More About Me
The Studio Journal
Read about my creative process, where I create, how I create, what inspires me as an artist, and more in my Studio Journal Blog.
Beyond The Easel and
Life Around The Studio
