The Upper Gallery presents

Beth Bale

Artist Bio

Thank God for high school art teachers.  I had a great one.  Under her tutelage, I worked in a myriad of artistic media and loved most of them.  I have no real memory of painting in watercolor as a child nor a teen, but I discovered it during my college days at Georgetown College in KY.  My opinion of watercolor painting was that of the vibrant and creamy pigments that I used then, from a tube, not those of the Crayola version dried up in a pan as many remember as children.  I have been mostly self-taught in painting watercolor, beginning with that independent study in college.  For the past 20 years I have painted largely in watercolor, with the occasional foray back to the acrylics of my college days.  Chatham County, NC, is my home.  I hold leadership positions in several state and local arts organizations, teach watercolor painting in Pittsboro, NC, and show my work in state-wide exhibits, at The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, NC, The Mann Center in Sanford, NC, and Stray’s Gallery in Chapel Hill, NC.  I earned my signature status in the Watercolor Society of NC in 2017.

I LOVE watercolor painting.  I love the way the pigment flows on the white paper when I paint in a wet technique and how the edges blend and mingle, soften or harden depending on my use of it.  I am passionate about the transparency of watercolor and the way the light bounces off the white of the paper and zings through the transparent washes of pigment when done properly.  The play of it calls me.  The colors inspire me.

I have been passionate about nature and animals all my life.  From my first “kitty” at age 5 when I told my parents I would give all the presents under the tree for a kitty, to my cats, dogs, chickens and horses currently in my life and the beautiful ones at the NC Zoo, I find inspiration in all of these.  It took me several years after starting to paint in watercolor to follow the adage I had heard so many times, “Paint what you know.”  Now I do.  All my animals, flowers, love of the landscape around me and that of my youth, appear in my work.  I see beauty all around me.  Painting changes the way one sees the world.

I hope that viewing my art will change the way you look at the world around you also.  My desire is that you will take a closer look at the next landscape you view, observe the petals of the next flower differently and appreciate the way the light reflects off your cat or dog as they nap in the last rays of sun coming through the window.  And if this affects the way you interact with this planet and its inhabitants, making your actions a bit more intentional with nature, then this passion of mine has done something special.  Thank you for participating in this artistic journey.

Artist Contact

bethbale@windstream.net

www.bethbale.com

On Facebook and Instagram as Beth Bale Fine Art

On Vero as Beth Bale

 Featuring: Artwork by Beth Bale

Reception: November 1, 2019 6pm-8pm

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 1:00-5:00 pm and Saturday 10:00 am -4:00 pm