Short 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 formerly managed the Mentorship Program at Helioscope, North America’s largest studio of comics professionals.
She is represented by Barry Goldblatt Literary.
CV:
Education
- 2008-2012 — BA Studio Art, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA
- 2012 — Internship, Periscope Studio, Portland, Oregon, USA
- 2010-2011 — Certificate in Comics and Independent Publishing, Independent Publishing Resource Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
Solo Exhibitions
- 2018 — Artist Spotlight, Hillsboro Brockwood Library, Hillsboro, Oregon
- 2014 — Down to the Seas Again, Sequential Art Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Group Exhibitions
- 2024 — Drawing Worlds: The Art of Comics and Beyond, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- 2024 — Sea of Ink: Savannah Maritime Tattoos, Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum, Savannah, Georgia
- 2024 — Duke Riley: O’er the Wide and Plastic Sea, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, Virginia
- 2024 — Art of the Kids’ Graphic Novel, Glema Mahr Center for the Arts, Madisonville, Kentucky
- 2018 — Immersion, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 2018 — Artist-at-Sea Exhibit, Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, Oregon
- 2017 — Artist-at-Sea Exhibit, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai’i
- 2016 — Object Stories, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
- 2014 — Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut
- 2013 — Tattoos & Scrimshaw: the Art of the Sailor, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia
Selected Publications (Comics)
Writer/Artist
- 2021 — “Who’s Being Left Out?” Possession: Spring ’21, Oregon Humanities
- 2021 — “The Commission,” Smut Peddler: Sordid Past, Iron Circus Comics
- 2020 — “Jeanne Baret,” Noisemakers: 25 Women Who Raised Their Voices and Changed the World, Penguin Random House
- 2018 — 100 Demon Dialogues, Toonhound Studios
- 2017 — Mappin’ the Floor, Schmidt Ocean Institute
- 2016 — A Life in Objects, Self-published
- 2016 — A Week at Sea with OHP, Self-published
- 2015 — “Salt Soap,” Irene #6, Silver Sprocket
- 2015 — “Flip the Switch,” Eat More Comics: The Best of The Nib, The Nib
- 2015 — Rim to River, Self-published
- 2015 — Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea, Toonhound Studios
- 2014 — Down to the Seas Again, Self-published
- 2013 — Grand Adventure, Self-published
- 2012 — True Believer, Self-published
In Collaboration
- (Forthcoming) 2026 — Seacritters (Illustrator), Candlewick Press
- 2023 — Serpentine (Illustrator), Bored Wolves
- 2022 — Spitball: Volume 7 (Writer), Columbus College of Art & Design
- 2021 — Tell the Turning (Illustrator), Bored Wolves
- 2018 — How to Invent Everything (Illustrator), Riverhead Books
- 2017 — Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories (Illustrator), Iron Circus Comics
- 2017 — “What Does Wonder Woman Actually Represent?” (Illustrator), The Nib
- 2015 — Bandette, Volume 2 (Illustrator), Dark Horse Comics
- 2014 — “Secret Life of Gitmo’s Women” (Illustrator), Symbolia Magazine
- 2013-2016 — Cartozia Tales (Writer/Illustrator), Issues 1-10, Cartozia Press
- 2013 — Waterlogged: Tales from the Seventh Sea (Illustrator), Cloudscape Comics
- 2013 — Rock, Ink, Roll (Illustrator), Seventh Avenue Productions
Selected Panels, Lectures & Workshops
- 2020 — Featured Speaker: “Paradoxes of Success: Money & Meaning in Creative Careers,” Jolabokaflod PDX, Portland, Oregon
- 2019 — Featured Speaker: “Make it Pay,” “Success and Your Soul,” Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Kansas City, Missouri
- 2019 — CCS Visiting Artist, The Center for Cartoon Studies, White River Junction, Vermont
- 2016-2018 — Guest Professor, The Animation Workshop, Denmark
- 2018 — Guest Lecturer, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
- 2018 — Panelist: “Design•Build•Business•You,” Design Week Portland, Portland, Oregon
- 2017 — Featured Speaker: “It’s All Relevant,” Creative Mornings, Portland, Oregon
- 2017 — Guest Lecturer, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio
- 2016 — Keynote Speaker, XOXO Festival, Portland, Oregon
- 2015-2018 — Annual Alumni Lecturer, Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Residencies
- 2024 — Blue Robotics Aquaculture Initiative (Embedded Artist), West Coast
- 2022 — Wayward Retreat (Facilitator), British Columbia
- 2019 — Wayward Retreat (Attendee), British Columbia
- 2017 — Light Grey Art Lab Residency (Attendee), Iceland
- 2017 — R/V Falkor Bathymetry Cruise (Embedded Artist), Pacific Ocean
- 2016 — SSV Oliver Hazard Perry Trainee Trip (Embedded Artist), East Coast
- 2015 — Whitewater Rafting Expedition (Embedded Artist), Grand Canyon
- 2014 — Charles W. Morgan 38th Voyage (Embedded Artist), Rhode Island
- 2007-2009 — S/V Lady Washington (Crew Member), West Coast
Awards and Honors
- Phi Beta Kappa (2012)
- Locher Creative Scholarship Recipient (2011)
- Reed Presidential Scholar (2008-2012)
Professional Affiliations
- 2013-Present — Mentorship Coordinator and Collective Member, Helioscope PDX, Portland, Oregon, USA
Selected Press
- Moreale, Manuel, “People and Blogs: Lucy Bellwood,” People and Blogs, November 29th, 2024
- Deresiewicz, William, “Art has been brutalized by tech’s giants. How can it survive?”MIT Technology Review, December 23rd, 2020
- Terror, Jude, “Google Teams With Lucy Bellwood and Scott McCloud for Comic Explaining Federated Learning,” Bleeding Cool, May 7th, 2019
- Sethfors, Hampus, “Accessible Comics,” Axess Lab, August 7th, 2018
- McMillan, Graeme, “‘100 Demon Dialogues’ Creator on Creativity, Imposter Syndrome and the Need For Empathy,” The Hollywood Reporter, July 17th, 2018
- Blazenhoff, Rusty, “Cartoonist Lucy Bellwood captures the ways inner demons sabotage in her latest comic book,” Boing Boing, May 14th, 2018
- Vongkiatkajorn, Yu, “Lucy Bellwood Knows Your Demons Better Than You Do,” Anxy Magazine, September 27th, 2017
- Stousy, Brandon, “Lucy Bellwood on the pros and cons of being an independent creator,” The Creative Independent, August 1st, 2017
- Dieker, Nicole, “Talking to Adventure Cartoonist Lucy Bellwood About Income Tracking,” The Billfold, May 2nd, 2017
- Barton, Randall S., “Twelve from ’12,” Reed Magazine, September, 2012
Phew.