Photo by Chris HigginsShort n’ Sweet Bio:
Lucy Bellwood is a professional Adventure Cartoonist based in Ojai, CA. Her documented expeditions include rafting trips through the Grand Canyon, cutting-edge oceanography in the Pacific, and an expedition aboard the last wooden whaling ship in the world. Her talks and essays explore the intersections of community, authenticity, and financial sustainability for creators. She is the author of Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea, an educational memoir about her time working aboard tall ships, and 100 Demon Dialogues, a helpful guide to living with imposter syndrome.
High Falutin’ Bio:
Lucy Bellwood [b. 1989] is a professional Adventure Cartoonist, author, and educator based in Ojai, California. Her work brings enthusiastic tales of exploration to thousands of readers online, in print, and in person.
As an Adventure Cartoonist, Bellwood’s comics are often written and drawn in the field, leading to immersive snapshots of tall ship sailing, whitewater rafting, and cutting-edge marine science. Her first graphic novel, Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea, collects educational stories from her time aboard the Lady Washington, the 18th-century replica tall ship she joined at the age of 17. The book received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and opened the door for a new generation of mariners to find their place at sea. Bellwood’s most recent book is 100 Demon Dialogues, a guide to living with Imposter Syndrome.
As an educator, Bellwood uses candid essays, interviews, and lectures to investigate how creators can thrive—both emotionally and practically—as creators in the modern age. An early adopter of crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon, she has raised over $150,000 to date to print and distribute her work around the world.
Bellwood earned her B.A. in Studio Art from Reed College in 2012 and a Certificate in Comics and Independent Publishing from the Independent Publishing Resource Center in 2011. Her work has been seen in The New York Times, Boing Boing, Kazoo Magazine, Fast Company, The Nib, Buzzfeed, Anxy Magazine, The Rumpus, Atlas Obscura, and The Hollywood Reporter. Selected exhibition venues include the Portland Art Museum, Light Grey Art Lab, Sequential Art Gallery, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
When not documenting her travels, Bellwood appears as a visiting speaker at institutions like Columbia College of Art and Design, the Art Institute of Chicago, Reed College, the Independent Publishing Resource Center, The Center for Cartoon Studies, and The Animation Workshop. She currently manages the Mentorship Program at Helioscope, North America’s largest studio of comics professionals.
She is represented by Barry Goldblatt Literary.
You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter or support her work directly via Patreon.