Montana Artworking by Cindy Betka

As the summer starts to heat up, I keep cool by painting water. It sets my mind in a refreshing place painting this rushing mountain stream. There is much work to do, but I thought I would show the progress so far; 2 stages on the easel. Oil Triptych in Progress - 2 stages on the easel  

 Just off my easel; 16" X 20" oil, 'Geyser Aqua' The distinct color of the pools is due to bacteria and algae which inhabit the water. Different temperatures of water both cause and also permit differences in plant communities and intensities of color. Good read, a link to Yellowstone web site on geysers;  http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/geysers.htm

These are a few photos taken this past week to share. Oregon Grape Young Elk with starts of velvety antlers Glacier Lily New Aspen groove

Who writes handwritten letters anymore? It was the rage before the internet and cell phones. It was an art in itself. Some people have beautiful penmanship. Besides that, some letters are historic. Keeping with Memorial Day I found this movie that was produced, “Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam”. I have not seen it and I am sure it would break my heart to see it. It is a documentary featuring letters written by U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Viet Nam War to their families and friends back home. Archive footage of the war and news coverage thereof augment the first-person 'narrative' by men and women who were in the war, some of whom did not survive it. To lighten my heart I am putting up some illustrated letters of Charles M. Russell. “Create in me a clean heart…and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51

Just received notice that: My project Autumn Streaming has been featured on ArtCenter Gallery . "Our curatorial team features a small number of projects to appear on the front of our gallery each day. We only pick the best work that effectively promotes the ArtCenter Gallery community." Autumn Stream, oil, Triptych, 20" X 60" Screen captured image of their page. How nice!

In the good days when I am painting, I get in the groove and live in the moment. It is all about problem solving. Back in another incarnation someone once told me that designing curves in a composition is one of the more difficult problems to solve. So I have set myself up for the challenge in this painting. The photos show the progress, start to finish. The shapes are full of indentations and projections. Each shape is different and they play off of one another.

More Snow, keeping me in studio My palette is mainly made up with Cobra water-mixable oil paints. In the 2 current paintings I am working on, I have been experimenting with really pushing the water mix. The effects are similar to water colors, but more forgiving. I like the play of transparent with the opaque. Here are some close ups of the beginnings of the paintings. We shall see how far I take them.