Betsy’s paintings, which she has exhibited in New England and in France, range from landscapes evocative of this region (some of our most admired pieces) to large and small abstract oils. Inspiration, which she describes as subtle and poetic, comes from places she has visited, photographed, or sketched.

The new paintings in this show represent Betsy’s mastery of a new oil painting technique that leverages her understanding of pastels. Ever since moving to the Upper Valley, Betsy has been drawn to the atmospheric sight of fog rising off the Connecticut River. It features in many of her real and imaginary landscapes and, in the past, she has achieved it through the use of velaturatechnique, or milky glazes. She applies oil paint on linen in a series of layers – first, a value based underpainting of the composition, then a mixed white over pure color, then a process of subtraction to ‘reveal’ the landscape through the fog. As only a partially controlled process, velatura technique lends itself to imaginary landscapes, letting the artist “discover” things as they go.

Pastel paintings have a special luminosity. When layers of pastels are applied, each flake of pigment is oriented differently on the substrate. When the light hits the painting, it refracts in all directions and, if the application is light enough, you can see through the layers. It is hard to duplicate the luminosity of pastels using oil paints, because the pigments tend to flatten out. By using a combination of transparent and semitransparent pigments though, and many layers, Betsy achieves this luminous effect in her most recent oil paintings of our region.

The opening reception for the exhibit is Friday, August 2nd, 5 – 7 pm. We will have music by Meadowlark and refreshments. Betsy will also be in the gallery on Sundays in August, for more opportunities for you to meet the artist.