Betsy Ruth Byers, Artist

 

Hello and welcome to the 50th 3 Art Questions With Jackson interview with Betsy Ruth Byers! 50! I have been to several of Betsy's exhibitions since I was 12 years old and I have always loved her use of color and how her paintings are a different type of abstract painting. As I expected, I loved her answers and I think you will too! Thank you for reading! (Instagram: @betsyruthbyers Website: www.betsyruthbyers.com / Images 1 and 4 courtesy of the artist)

Jackson: How did you end up on an artistic life path? Did you have a specific experience?

Betsy: When I was a kid I loved to draw and observe outside. My parents were both teachers, so I was lucky enough to have long stretches of time up up north at my grandma's cabin and farm...I spent many mornings on the dock trying to capture the linework of the waves. It never occurred to me to be an artist when I grew up. Looking back, I intuitively knew that drawing was a way for me to see better and therefore begin to understand the natural relationships spread out before me.

I went to a liberal arts undergrad institution because I enjoyed studying many things. I thought I might pursue medicine or architecture. I ended up taking oil painting for the first time my sophomore year and that was it! I fell in love with the process and the possibilities that it offered. I declared an art major with an environmental studies concentration. My path has weaved back and forth in the decades that followed, but my work continues to intersect with landscape, science and the power of observation and imagination. 

Jackson: I've noticed when encountering your work that nature plays a big part. Do you think that nature informs your painting or that your painting is about nature?

Betsy: I love this question. I would say both...I think from the beginning nature has informed my work. I grapple with questions such as: How does the landscape make us feel? How do I translate deep space? How can I capture the beauty of peripheral light reflecting off the water? The paintings usually begin inspired by multiple photographs I have taken on research trips. Somehow in the process of painting a transformation or flip takes place...the work does become about nature. Ultimately, I am working from a place of empathy for the natural world and I am hopeful that my viewers can feel this when they spend time with my work. 

Jackson: If you could meet any artist living living or dead, who would it be and why?

Betsy: There are so many! If I have to pick one today, I would say Claire Sherman. Her paintings are full of life and movement and capture both the visceral and quiet moments in the landscape. I admire how her brush strokes form planes that expand into larger forms. I would love to peak inside of her studio and see her process!