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Betsy's profile from a local newspaper
By day, T&D
Communications Manager Betsy Woodford relies on newsletters, memos and Web pages to connect with employees
in her business unit. But in her spare time, Woodford uses paintbrushes and palettes to express herself, transforming blank
canvasses into vibrant oil landscapes that have garnered praise and commendations from her peers.
Woodford said she took up oil painting about four years ago after she finished graduate school and suddenly found herself
with extra time.
"I had been making quilts for about 12 years and even taught the craft at various community centers," she said, "but I
felt I had gone as far as I could with that art form. I wanted to explore something new and had always been attracted to French
Impressionism, so I decided to take up painting."
Woodford said she admires the work of 19th and 20th century masters Claude Monet, Edgar Payne and William Wendt, and is
currently taking lessons from Margo Lennartz, one of several renowned California Impressionists.
"Impressionism is an art form that doesn't seek to capture a scene photographically," she said. "The idea is to use color
and brushstrokes to portray the essence of a scene at a given moment in time. Of the many arts and crafts I've tried, this
is by far the hardest. With every brushstroke, one must consider the color, value and the shape and thickness of the strokes."
Apparently Woodford is mastering her technique. Last year, she won third prize in the floral category at the San Gabriel
Fine Arts Association show for a work she titled "It's a Riot of Color." She also received an honorable mention at the Pomona
Valley Artists Association show for "Sedona," a portrayal of the famous rock formations in that Arizona town. In addition,
several Southern California galleries have accepted her work, and she has sold paintings at local art festivals and street
fairs.
Woodford said she gathers her inspiration from nature and works in plein air, a French term for open air, where
work is done on location.
"I've always loved the land and feel very connected to it," she said. "My favorite places are Laguna Beach and Yosemite.
The light in California is incredible--legendary among artists. I feel very spiritual when I'm painting." --from
Edison News, March 26, 2004
Betsy's philosophy on painting
A fourth generation Californian, Betsy Woodford draws her artistic inspiration from the
land of her heritage. "Capturing the stories of the land and the people who live there provides the basis of my paintings,"
she says. "To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we change the land and then the land changes us. That is so true for Californiacalled
the land of golden promiseand therein lies some interesting tales to be told through painting."
"Of the elements used in creating a paintingshapes/composition, values, color,
and brushstrokes--color and brushstrokes are the most important to me in my paintings," she says. "They convey more of the
feelings and moods I see in my subjects and am trying to share."
Capturing the moods and of color has been a lifetime pursuit in Woodford's
long artistic endeavors. An award-winning quilter and teacher for 12 years, she
now concentrates exclusively on oil painting en plein air, capturing the style of the California impressionists.
"I am not interested in capturing a scene photographically, what I want is
for my color and brush strokes to capture the essence of the mood of the place.
"Of the many arts and crafts I've tried oil painting is by far the
hardest. With each stroke of the brush there are about 10 decisions that have to be made, and you have to be able to do it
instinctively. Thats why each successful painting is such a triumph because with each new painting the artist opens herself
up to such enormous failure."
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Juried Shows
Betsy has been accepted into shows at Morro Bay, San Gabriel Fine Arts Gallery,
the California Art Club Show at the Women's Club, Gallery Soho, the Alhambra City Hall, the Paramount Art Show, and the 45th
Annual Catalina Arts Festival. Her paintings are held in several private collections in California and Arizona. In October,
she won third prize in the floral category at the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association show for "It's a Riot of Color", and an
honorable mention at the Pomona Valley Artists Association Show for "Sedona." More recently, her "Majestic Roses" won artist
of the month at SGFAA and an honorable mention at the Paramount Show.
Memberships
Betsy is a member of the California Art Club, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the Southern California Plein
Air Painters Association, the Oil Painters of America, the Pomona Valley Artists Association, and the San Gabriel Fine Arts
Association.
Her paintings are available through her studio/gallery. Contact bwoodford@altrionet.com.
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| Majestic Palms, 12X16, oil on canvas, $275 |
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