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Betty Mitchell is a California Impressionistic Realism painter whose artwork includes landscapes, seascapes, and animals. Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa but raised in Southern California, drawing was a naturally inherited passion. A passion that, from an early age, Betty’s mother and father helped to encourage with art classes throughout her school days. Later, Betty continued to study art with night classes in community college and at California State University in Long Beach.

Becoming a loving and single mother to four precocious children in 1965 only paused her passion for painting until in 1995 Betty retired to return to the world of art. Betty’s debut back started at the School of Light and Color, with master colorist Susan Sarback M.A. There, Betty studied the Impressionists’ technique of painting with knives instead of brushes. Betty gained further experience while studying with Bob Gerbracht, M.A., U.C.S.C. And Foster Caddell, P.S.A.

With a propensity for being outdoors, Betty opts for plein air painting, and enjoys creating scenes that remind her of pleasant times. Her love for nature and the world around her blossoms on the canvas which allows her soul to unfold through the colors and movement of the paints she uses. Striving to utilize the full spectrum of color in her oil paintings, Betty’s use of color and light allows one to see her paintings in a unique and vivid way, an approach that she feels makes her style more realistic. As well as painting, Betty is fond of photography. Almost never leaving the house without a camera. Using the camera, Betty scopes out locations and take photos at different times of the day to ascertain the best time for light for a painting.

 

Betty has a keen sense of the art community becoming a founding member of the Chroma Gallery in Fair Oaks, California and has participated and exhibited with many art shows in Southern California including the Auburn California Art Walk, the KVIE Art Auction, the Sacramento Salmon Festival, and the Gallery One Art Show where she was awarded second place by judge Martin Betten, a wild life artist. Betty has also exhibited her art work with the Redwood Art Association, the Morris Graves Museum, the Trinidad Art Gallery, and at the Eatery and Gallery. As well as many other galleries, private residences, and businesses in Northern California.

Betty’s unpretentious disposition does nothing to restrict the praise over her artwork, that has been extolled as beautiful and has been known to instill a peaceful joy. Betty paints with the hope that her paintings will reflect her character and inspire in others a love for nature and the world.