Bettye was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She has been residing in Nelson County, Virginia most of her adult life, Bettye began painting to fulfill a lifelong love of art. Her appreciation of watercolors fostered a desire to learn and experience the challenge of the medium.
With residences in North Carolina and Virginia, and through her travels, Bettye has a never-ending variety of subjects to paint. She uses her own photographs and sketches as references. Quality transparent watercolors are on primarily 140 lb. Arches cold press paper. Vibrant color is evident in her work. The white of the paper gives luminescence to a painting. Masking mediums and white paint are rarely used.
For Bettye, painting with watercolors is a passion and a way of thinking. “Art is a personal experience for the artist and the viewer. Only through an appreciation of the subject can a love of the painting grow.”
Bettye has completed a number of commissioned paintings for private collections and sells in several galleries and art shows each year. Paintings can be viewed at The Yellow House Gallery, Nags Head, NC, the annual Miniature Art Show at Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC, the Dare County Arts Council Gallery, Manteo, NC, the Alleghany Highlands Art Center, Clifton Forge, VA, the Lynchburg Art Festival and the Lynchburg Art Club, Lynchburg, VA.
A Member of: Dare County Arts Council, NC & Lynchburg Art Club, Lynchburg, VA