Betsy Eby
Encyclopedia
Betsy Eby is an American encaustic painter currently residing on Vashon Island in Washington State.
Betsy Eby was born on April 3, 1967 in the small coastal town of Seaside, Oregon
. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Art History at the University of Oregon
, with an emphasis in ancient Greek, Roman and Asian antiquities. During Betsy's internship at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, her aesthetic was influenced by Asian Landscape painting as well as the work of Northwest Masters which she catalogued. After graduation, she lived briefly in Tokyo
and was deeply influenced by Japanese history and culture. She has practiced classical piano since the age of five.
Betsy Eby currently lives on an island off the coast of Maine
in summer, and on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound
in Washington through the winter. She is married to artist Bo Bartlett
.
Betsy Eby works in encaustic
, a medium that dates back to the 4th Century BC and was written about in the works of Roman scholar Pliny the Elder
. Her paintings are created of pigmented beeswax, in a complex process of layering and torching, with a variety of methods in paint application. She balances compositional concerns with the material properties of the beeswax itself in an organic process of creation. She works within the context of the physical dimension of the wax and the way the it obfuscates color, all the while building to a finished surface with a sculptural surface which glistens like poured resin.
Her work can be found in private collections, public collections, and galleries throughout the United States.
Life
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Art History at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, with an emphasis in ancient Greek, Roman and Asian antiquities. During Betsy's internship at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, her aesthetic was influenced by Asian Landscape painting as well as the work of Northwest Masters which she catalogued. After graduation, she lived briefly in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and was deeply influenced by Japanese history and culture. She has practiced classical piano since the age of five.
Betsy Eby currently lives on an island off the coast of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in summer, and on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
in Washington through the winter. She is married to artist Bo Bartlett
Bo Bartlett
Bo Bartlett is an American realist painter currently residing on Vashon Island in Washington State.-Life:...
.
Work
Rhythm, balance, lyricism and tone in Betsy Eby’s paintings are influenced by her lifelong devotion to music. Her paintings are informed by the natural world, drawing on forms found on both microscopic and macroscopic scales. Her calligraphic compositions draw on the movement of living things and visual forms echoed throughout nature. Her works resonate with the experience of observing natural phenomena, such as the patterns created by a flock of birds taking flight, the substance of interplanetary nebula, and the whorls of sea grass found in a tide pool. Her subject matter, composition, color and surface luminosity are informed by the wet coastal climate and ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. Her works utilize abstraction and elemental reduction to portray essence and movement, rather than relying solely on observation or pure abstraction.Betsy Eby works in encaustic
Encaustic
Encaustic may refer to:*Encaustic painting*Encaustic tile...
, a medium that dates back to the 4th Century BC and was written about in the works of Roman scholar Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
. Her paintings are created of pigmented beeswax, in a complex process of layering and torching, with a variety of methods in paint application. She balances compositional concerns with the material properties of the beeswax itself in an organic process of creation. She works within the context of the physical dimension of the wax and the way the it obfuscates color, all the while building to a finished surface with a sculptural surface which glistens like poured resin.
Her work can be found in private collections, public collections, and galleries throughout the United States.
Public collections
- Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
- Providence Hospital, Portland, OR
- Jordan Schnitzer Museum of ArtJordan Schnitzer Museum of ArtJordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The original building was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence as part of his "main university quadrangle," now known as the Memorial Quadrangle...
, Eugene, OR - Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
- Art in Embassies 2004–2006, Banjul, Gambia
- 2200 Westlake, Seattle, WA
- Cielo Building, New York, NY
- Westin New York, Times Square, NY
- Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
- Boeing Corporate Headquarters, Chicago, IL
- Alston and Bird Law Offices, Atlanta, GA
- American Cancer Society, National Collection
- Nordstrom Inc., National Collection
- Whittier Trust Company, Seattle, WA
- Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, WA
- Norwest Venture Capitol Partners, Palo Alto, CA
- Starfish Restaurant, Seattle, WA
- Westin Hotel, Bellevue, WA
- Bellevue Club, Bellevue, WA
- Olive 8, Seattle, WA
Influences
- Cy TwomblyCy TwomblyEdwin Parker "Cy" Twombly, Jr. was an American artist well known for his large-scale, freely scribbled, calligraphic-style graffiti paintings, on solid fields of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors...
- Anselm KieferAnselm KieferAnselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
- Antoni TàpiesAntoni TàpiesAntoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tàpies is a Catalan painter. He is one of the most famous European artists of his generation. After studying law for 3 years, he devoted himself from 1943 onwards only to his painting...
- Brice MardenBrice MardenBrice Marden , is an American artist, generally described as Minimalist, although his work defies specific categorization. He lives in New York and Eagles Mere.Marden is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery.-Life:...
- Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
- Joan MitchellJoan MitchellJoan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...