On a mission to create paintings in communities in all 50 states, Georgia native Angel Sewell is spending late September in central Aroostook County.
“I came here for the fall leaves, but I have to work everywhere I go,” said Sewell, next to her camper-truck painted with the words “poor white trash.”
Sewell, who grew up in rural Georgia and recently turned 50, said she’s trying to use art to “challenge the perceptions” of life in lower-income rural communities.
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- Georgia-born travelling artist Angel Sewell, also known as the White Trash Angel, has spent the summer in Maine as part of her quest to visit every state in the country. (Anthony Brino)
Sewell has spent much of the summer in the midcoast area of Maine painting window signs for businesses, taking tips for her work. On Tuesday, a day after driving north, she was painting a window display for Heads Up Hair Design in Presque Isle.
Sewell is four years and more than a dozen states into her quest to paint in all 50 states. She’s travelled much of the East Coast, venturing as far west as Missouri in her camper-truck while subsisting frugally — occasionally “dumpster diving” for groceries and sleeping in Walmart parking lots.
“Nothing’s written in stone. I’m not in a hurry to accomplish my goals,” said Sewell.
She is not sure how long she’ll stay in Aroostook County or Maine. Some Mainers she’s met have urged her to consider overwintering here. But she’ll probably head south for winter and for work painting around the Christmas season.
“It’s my profession. I chose it and I love it. I don’t want to be cooped up in a house.”
