Betty Barss’ Art: Reflecting Her Sense of Place

“My life really isn’t all that interesting,” starts out southern Oregon watercolor artist Betty Barss. We here at White Water Warehouse, politely disagree. Betty has established herself as an exceptional painter who works in the most unforgiving of venues: watercolor. “I taught art to fourth and sixth graders for 25 years and during that time had only Saturdays open to focus on devotion to my art. Now retired, I slowly moved from oils to transparent watercolors. The hardest part of making this transition was to work in reverse from oils…with watercolor painting, you ‘save your whites.’ I love painting in this style because it is a constant challenge. You must be flexible because there is a real spontaneity to this style. Some days it is truly the painting that tells ME where it wants to go…”

Betty and her husband still reside in southern Oregon but also have a home in eastern Oregon. And it is no surprise that you can see these two Oregon landscapes–southern and eastern– are represented in her paintings. Her gift is in her ability to reflect her sense of place through her paintings.

You can look at more of Betty’s artwork at her website. Or, if you are in the Ashland, Oregon area, stop in Art & Soul, a gallery that specializes in original, two-dimensional fine art. They carry many of Betty’s paintings.

All images displayed in this blog are copyrighted by artist Betty Barss.