    
Betty as featured artist at the Vista Art Gallery.Betty's Current Exhibits Betty does not have any art exhibited at this time. Check back to see what's ahead. |
BettyFrom childhood in Merrill, Wisconsin, Betty Gilroy has nurtured her creative side, combining her love of nature and her love of art. Whether it is a garden in the city, a thirsty desert landscape or a sunset on the ocean, Gilroy cherishes how the beauty of nature is everywhere, in countless ways and various environments. Her paintings reflect that passion of nature and her desire to express the subjects in their true essence. Gilroy has had some formal training in Commercial Art but life’s journey has been her greatest teacher. Every decade brings a new chapter of artistic skill and opportunity. As her life experiences vary, so do Betty’s artistic endeavors and choices. For the past 35 years art has been interwoven in Betty’s life, free-lancing and volunteering her artistic abilities from place to place and person to person. Her first significant art pieces were created while still a teenager. She designed and painted several psychedelic wall murals at the local youth center where she grew up and won several local art awards. Those opportunities gave her the sense that she was really an artist and had something to offer with an artistic future to look forward to. From there what ever artistic opportunity arose, Betty would take, mounting her skill in various techniques and mediums. During the 70’s and 80’s she primarily worked in watercolors and acrylic wall murals. Often different art jobs would come, stretching her to learn new areas like sign painting, lettering, 3D art, pencil or pen and ink drawings. In the 90’s and 2000’s Betty delved into acrylic painting on canvas and continued creating wall murals on a larger scale. She also turned her interest to woodworking, hand crafting and artistically painting wood furnishings. With this came a level of skill she used to dream of as a teenager. She is appreciated and known for her detailed realistic impressions of the Anza Borrego Desert, her many sunset palms and her various tropical and floral paintings. Laying aside her interest in large scale wall murals she is pursuing the detailed world of nature on canvas, acquiring her subjects through photography. Often times she takes a great number of photos of one subject from various positions and angles to be sure to fully attain the character of what ever she is photographing and will eventually paint. This thorough information allows her to paint her nature subjects in awesome and realistic detail. It has been in the last decade that Gilroy found an interest in exhibiting her art in shows and galleries. Her paintings and murals have been displayed throughout Southern California, particularly San Diego County where she lives. In 2007 at the San Diego County Fair Betty won ‘First Place’ and also ‘Best of Division’ for her hand crafted Alder floor cabinet painted artistically with a Caribbean Scene. She won third place awards for her canvas paintings in 2007 and 2008 and also honorable mention. Her painting DESERT RANCH is featured in the April, 2008 edition of SouthwestArt magazine as well as the book, Land Of Sunlight, Contemporary Paintings of San Diego County, published by James Lightner. You can see that painting in the Desert Gallery of this web site. Her paintings are displayed privately in numerous locations around the country. |
HarrisHarris has been an artist all his life, drawing and painting at an early age. His father, an accomplished amateur landscape painter, taught him the fundamentals of color mixing and brush stroke. The explosion of art in the psychedelic sixties further inspired him to develop his artistic skills while in his teens. In the 70's Harris studied art at Spring Arbor University earning his B.A. in Fine Art as well as a teaching degree. His senior art show included not only painting and drawing but also the 3 dimensional media of ceramics and furniture design and construction. In the mid-70's Harris co-founded Catfield Leather & Goods, a central California craft company that combined art with function. Leather garments, footwear, bags, purses, ceramics and furniture were all designed and produced by the partners. Harris's love for wood working landed him a job with Songbird Interiors, designing and building natural wood decor for upscale restaurants and retailers. His passion for the natural material inspired him to eventually open his own business in Southern California, creating residential furniture and kitchen designs. He is appreciated by his clients for the meticulous and pristine workmanship of his pieces. Most of his time is spent at the wood shop creating the sought after furniture, but Harris still finds occasion to put his painting skills to good use. For more than a decade he has been developing stage sets for the Children's Ministry at North Coast Church. He uses these sets to teach kids the principles of faith in the Lord. Harris is a natural born teacher with an incredible ability for detail, memorization and communication. It brings him great satisfaction to be able to use both his artistic and communication skills for the good of others. Harris not only has an artistic flair but he has a love for the Ocean and all it has to offer. As a child Harris grew up moving to various parts of the world , offering him the opportunity to take on the joy of surfing in the Indian Ocean and eventually becoming certified in Scuba Diving as well. This fortunate experience followed him all through his adult life which is the reason he lives near the ocean today in Southern California. He loves and respects the ocean and he loves and respects nature. His most recent passion is the desert where he shares that interest with his wife. Having so many interests and abilities to occupy his time Harris is still completely devoted to his family. He is a well rounded individual with amazing abilities, able to keep his life in balance, his art interests alive, and his faith in God always a priority. He shares his knowledge with others, especially his daughter who scuba dives with him and has inherited a creative nature as well. Example of small decorative wood box
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 Harris working at his wood shop business, Genesis Woodworks, in Escondido California. Web site coming soon!
Betty with nationally syndicated cartoonist, Greg Evans at a Young Artists Gallery reception in Vista, California
Small painted wood box. |
