Betsy Moore

ARTIST INTERVIEW:

With a keen eye for color, and natural understanding of design, Betsy Moore was meant to work in the arts. When it came time, Betsy followed her artistic instincts and studied art at Mary Baldwin College, and later at VCU and the VMFA Studio School. While she held a successful career in Interior Design for many years, it was a revelation which led her to become a full-time painter. “It was always during the interior design aspect of my work that working with the artwork was what attracted me the most. Being an artist is all I’ve ever really wanted, it was an innate calling all along but it took a while to get there. The journey was part of the process.”

Regarding her creative process, Betsy has found that working alongside mentors, such as Robin Caspari and Jane Joyner, has influenced her artistic work in profound ways. “It's important to paint with other painters, share the journey, and critique and share your own progress. That has informed my work more than anything.” Betsy finds endless inspiration at her home in Powhatan near the river. “It might be a sunset, or the way light falls on a building. Inspiration comes from everywhere.” Betsy prefers to use a limited palette with her paintings, and often begins with an under painting in burnt sienna to gauge the values and contrast. While she prefers to paint en plein air, she spends 50% of her time between her studio and the great outdoors.

More recently, and in Monet fashion, Betsy has developed a newfound love for painting waterlilies. She has explored this subject through a variety of perspectives, sizes, and new tools. “I feel so fulfilled working on this series. It's fun to take one subject and paint it many different ways. I think it's good to visit and revisit a subject, because it pushes you.” She believes once you become comfortable with a subject, you can truly experiment with color, value, and brushstrokes.

Throughout her life Betsy has lived by the mantra “keep it simple.” She aspires to “love God, love others, love what you do.” With all of her creative work, Betsy says, “I always try to think about how to stay mindful and present, and how to help others.”

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ARTIST BIO:

Betsy Gates Moore is as passionate about painting in her studio as she is about painting outdoors or “en plein air.” Moore enjoys a lifelong appreciation and education for art and spends the better part of each day painting, learning and continuing to grow as an artist.  She is partial to painting landscapes, seascapes, architecture and still life.  Her artist’s eye is always on the lookout for the next subject to capture on canvas.

Moore takes a “less is more” approach with her painting and prefers a looser style, based on the light-filled paintings of Impressionism.  She knows that editing her compositions is the most important step to achieve that in both simple and complex paintings.  While most of her work is based on actual scenes and vistas which she paints on site or from her own photography, the artist enjoys the freedom to include a wistful whimsy that is ever-present in each of her paintings.  Betsy Moore constantly travels, questions, experiments and truly studies the world around her, as evidenced in her body of work.

Betsy Moore currently has no products for sale online.

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