Betsy Eby’s paintings give the impression of organic, lyrical buoyancy and sprawl. As a Northwest native, Eby is influenced by daily observations of the old growth forests and natural phenomenon of petal blooms, migratory bird paths, flowing water, frost, and mist.
She is also influenced by a lifelong practice of classical piano. In particular, she pays attention to its compositional rhythms and poetic meter. Some of her works are an exploration of the synesthetic relationship between classical music and the visual experience.
Eby creates a sense of depth and movement in her work through the build up of multiple layers of beeswax. She is only finished when there is an intricate and lively interplay between receding and emerging forms.
Betsy Eby received her BA from the University of Oregon. She and her husband, painter Bo Bartlett, split their time between studios in Columbus, Georgia, and Wheaton Island, Maine. She savors the spaciousness and light of both of these studios, and her paintings evoke the atmosphere of the vast ocean that surrounds her small island residence in Maine. Her work has been shown and collected by the Georgia Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum, and she has shown frequently with Winston Wachter Fine Art in both the Seattle and New York galleries.
