Bette Crowder loves landscapes more than anything.
But not on weekends. That’s when butterflies are her numero uno.
Or did she say gardens are her faves? Hostas and dahlias. While foliage and flowers paint smiles all over her heart, she splashes watercolor gardens all over Ampersand panels.
Truth is – any day, any moment, any display of Mother Nature – at her homes in Florida or North Carolina, is Bette’s favorite vista and time.
She says, “Do what you love.” And, boy, does she capture her loves beautifully!
The Plateau provides one of the world’s most magnificent photo ops for artists. The scenery is her library of aesthetic reference.
Beyond Highlands and Cashiers, Bette and her husband explore the splendor of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and beyond, looking for the next visual prize. Lately it’s a grist mill in West-by-god-Virginia, a favorite visit for photo studies and hours of inspiration.
Bette’s phone is a godsend. She marvels at almost every pose it snaps, especially those that capture the character of the images.
On one of their photo adventures, they came upon a swarm of cars and people at a stream. Turns out, it was opening day for fishing season. The site was energetic, but the paintings of family members told the real stories.
That’s part of Bette’s skill. She is as much a storyteller as a visual artist.
She says, “I got three satisfying paintings. Fishing and painting were infectious with the first day of casting lines.”
One of her favorite painting stories is dripping in magic.
“I painted a garden scene,” she says. “It was an old gate opening uphill to a house. All of a sudden, I saw a face in this painting I’d made. The features were in the mouth of another face. Where did I come up with that? I didn’t see it initially, so where and how did this happen? We concluded it was a mystical painting within a painting.”
Bette has taken occasional classes in abstract, plein air, and more. She absorbs all that’s new and applies what fits into her style. As you look at the butterfly paintings, for example, you can see she played with shape and color and pattern in ways that are influenced by the abstract, but just a sprinkle, not a flood.
To see more of Bette’s work, visit Jeanie Edwards Fine Art and Gallery, 223 South 4th Street in Highlands. You can also send her a note – bettecrowder@gmail.com.
Join us on Tuesday, August 4, at 5:30 P.M. at High Country Wine & Provisions to meet Bette and celebrate her Laurel cover.
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