Cyndi Bellerose-McAfee 

Majoring in Illustration, Cyndi Bellerose-McAfee graduated from The Columbus College of Art & Design in 1985. Although illustration was her main focus, painting and creating three dimensional paper art was also a passion. One of her proudest moments at CCAD was being selected to exhibit one of her paper sculptures in New York City at the Society of Illustrators Student Exhibition. 

Bellerose-McAfee landed her first professional job in 1985 at Trott & Bean Architects as a graphic designer. In 1987 she left the firm to pursue her growing freelance business now known as Studio 49. 

For over 20 years, under the direction of Bellerose-McAfee, Studio 49 has produced a wide variety of art including illustration, graphic design and environmental art for Highlights for Children, Famous Dave’s of America, Hoggy’s Restaurants, The Wexner Center for the Arts and The Columbus Museum of Art to name a few. In 2005, she remarried and co-founded Studio 49 Atmosphere Design with her husband Lou McAfee. Together, they were involved with the conceptualization and installation of the award winning exhibit “Cargo: The Middle Passage” at The King Arts Complex. The exhibit received the GCAC Artistic Excellence Award in 2006. The following year the duo completed their design and installation of the permanent exhibit, “Goree Island: House of Slaves”, also at The King Arts Complex.  

For over 10 years, this active artist has also been an educator, instructing family art workshops throughout Central Ohio and teaching art part-time at Saint Mary Elementary School and The Wellington School. 

Although Studio 49 and teaching keeps Bellerose-McAfee busy, she began painting again in 2001 when she had an idea for a children’s book. That idea won her the Best of Show Award at the Ohio State Fair Fine Art Exhibition in the amateur division with her triptych; “That Stings!”  Months later, the focus switched from children art to more adult themes when The Joan Series began. Her ever growing body of work has exhibited in Columbus, Ohio at Waldo’s on High, The Ohio Art League, Sean-Christopher Galley, 83 Gallery, Agora 2009, Matchbox Gallery, Junctionview Studios, Lindsay Gallery, and the Carnegie Gallery for the Ohio Art League’s 100 Leagues Under The C exhibit where she received the Jurors’ Choice Award. From 2005 to 2008, snippets of The Joan Series have appeared in postcard form in the “Wish You Were Here” annual exhibition at A.I.R. Gallery in New York City.  

In 2007 Bellerose-McAfee answered an international call for entries and was selected as a featured artist in the Spring edition of Her Circle E-zine where The Joan Series has been published and archived along with her artist essay titled, In the name of Joan, an alter ego fights back. 

Bellerose-McAfee is a member of Mother Artists at Work (MAW), the Ohio Art League and Creative Arts of Women (CAW).

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