NEWFANE — Elizabeth (Betsy) Whittemore MacArthur will exhibit her acrylic paintings through the month of October at the Crowell Gallery of the Moore Free Library, 23 West St.
“In 1973 my four children and I moved to Marlboro, Vermont where we had always spent our summers,” MacArthur writes on her website. “In 1975 I started for my degree in Art at Windham College, and found an excellent teacher and lifelong friend in Peter Forakis, the sculptor.”
She moved to Marlboro from Princeton, N.J. because she wanted a place that felt like home to her, even without her husband, Robert, who had died when he was 42 years old and when she was 39.
She works from a yellow ochre studio, which her husband built for her right next to her house. She has continued to live and work in Marlboro where she raised her four children, who are now grown up.
As a child, MacArthur said she was pretty shy. Everyone called her “Big Bets,” because she was five-foot-ten at age 11. When she was older, she went to Smith College and studied botany.
She graduated in 1954. When she was 25, she was hospitalized with bipolar disorder. While recuperating, she began to study painting. She said she chose painting as a career because she found it soothing and relaxing. At age 78, she still does.
She does sell her work, and a number of Marlboro residents have bought pieces from her.
The artists that inspire her most are Henri Matisse and Vincent Van Gogh. She likes to work with oil, pastels, brush acrylics, ink, and gouache. Her favorite themes to paint are portraits, flowers, cats, her house, and snow scenes.
MacArthur's process for creating a painting is to first get a stretched canvas of the right size. Then, she takes her pencil and makes a quick sketch of what she's going to paint. Last, she takes a pallet knife or regular brush and begins painting.
Her typical day at work is usually to get up (“sometimes late”), make a cup of tea, and read for a while. After writing at length in her journal, if she feels like painting, she paints.
She often starts off with a small painting, but later in the day, she might paint something bigger. She thinks that an important part of her job is to “just keep going.” She adds that she loves to work in her studio because it reminds her of her husband and also it frees her to be alive as an artist.
“Life is worth living,” she writes on her website. “I continue to do my art. I have friends and family to love and share life with. And somewhere in there is Little Black Rheta the cat who sleeps on my bed and shares my day.
“At 77 I am glad to be alive!”
The show is open during library hours: Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
For examples of MacArthur's paintings, visit www.betsyspaintings.com or moorefreelibrary.org.
Call librarian Meris Morrison at 802-365-7948 for more information about the exhibit.