 Betsy Potter is an artist, poet, and naturalist. A native of Western New York, she has been painting and drawing 30 years. She grew up in a small housing development that was built on and around farmland so her first experiences of nature came from wandering through old hedgerows, fallow and plowed fields, and waste places. Though not as rich with diversity as places she has come to know over the years, it still provided enough to give her a strong love of the land. When in her twenties, she knew that she wanted to be an artist. Her education in art was somewhat unconventional. There were lessons from her older sister, then courses while attending Empire State College and finally she taught herself from many books and trips to museums. Together with her partner, Willie D'Anna, she has traveled to many parts of the U.S. and Canada to see birds and the landscapes they occupy. Currently she is working on two series; one being portraits of migrating warblers in their habitat and the other revolving around the theme of man’s relationship to his environment.
|
