After closing her clay studio in 1998 Bettye began painting regularly. Bettye’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows at many local venues including Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine, Pete and Susan Barrett Gallery, in Santa Monica, L.A Artcore Brewery Annex, UUSM Art Wall, and Viva Gallery among others. Her paintings are in collections in California, Hawaii, Texas, and Colorado
For Bettye art serves as a visual expression of the cycles and changes that are part of life. Her paintings are an attempt to express the wholeness of life, which is constantly in flux. The tension of the call to change, the human desire for stasis, and the way life demands movement, are ongoing themes. Her greatest excitement comes when working in non-objective ways, letting color and form develop as a way of expressing experiences that are beyond words.
She says, “I constantly work back and forth between realistic and abstract or non-objective paintings, since for me one style feeds the other, with both being important to my expression as a painter. I especially like working in a series, whether in clay, painting, or fused glass since this allows an idea to develop and deepen as I explore possibilities.”
Studies include Otis, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Monica College and Emeritus College. Workshops and seminars with various artists offered opportunities to explore abstract, non-objective, and experimental painting.