The public is invited to attend an opening reception for the artist on September 26, 5-7pm, and the show will run through November 2nd.
Betsy Eby’s encaustic paintings are infused with a unique sensibility informed by the artist’s Pacific Northwest heritage, her concerns for nature and a lifelong classical piano practice. Using trowels, knives, brushes and heat, Eby pours and spreads hot and cold natural wax-based paint onto the canvas, which is then mounted on panel, layering gestures to create nuanced marks across the surface. The paintings in this exhibition are inspired by the wilderness of nature and the way in which the natural world serves as a tonic for the human spirit. Created in her Maine summer retreat, Eby’s new body of work captures the music and rhythms portrayed in nature: the lulling of waves, the fragrance of the sea air, resinous bay berries, blueberries, honey suckle in the breeze…. all have their own sound and melodies that speak to the artist. “There is musical accompaniment in nature,” the artist states.