Visiting artist no stranger to Alaska

Visiting artist Judi Betts from Baton Rouge, La., will teach a four-day water media workshop May 29 through June 1, followed by the 2012 Machetanz Art Festival June 2 on campus at Mat-Su College. Open registration is available online at matsu.alaska.edu, or call 745-9746 to register.

This interview with Betts took place while she was sitting on the steps of her Baton Rouge home Sunday.

BACH: What is it like in Louisiana today?

BETTS: Well, it is not Hawaii, but this is the height of the azaleas — hot pink, light pink, HUGE, 6 or 8 feet tall, orange and cobalt violet. We have not had a cold winter, so they are HUGE. Ornamental pear trees are blooming white blossoms; new palm trees that line the driveway need watering.

BACH: I met you in 1986 when you taught a class in the Episcopal Church basement in Anchorage. The church is still there, and you are still teaching in Alaska. It seems like the world goes on and we are still painting. Was that your first trip to Alaska?

BETTS: Marie Shaunessey — we both studied under Ed Whitney — she invited me to teach once or twice so that could have been the first trip. (This was a) great introduction to your great state. Then Marionette Stock, who attended the workshop, was from Fairbanks and she introduced me to Jo Scott (former director of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival) and now I have taught in Fairbanks so many times that I can’t even remember. One year we painted out on the deck and the cold came up from the river. We painted outside (in Anchorage). One lady said it was way too hot and she had to go back inside, and I had on a red cotton blazer!

BACH: What expectations did you have before your first Alaska trip?

BETTS: People told me how expensive things were and I thought, “Oh my, toothpaste would be $20;” very concerned that things would be very expensive.

BACH: Where have you taught in Alaska, so far?

BETTS: Ketchikan, Homer, Juneau, Valdez, Kenai, Anchorage, Fairbanks and now Palmer/Wasilla. First time in the Valley except for driving through.

BACH: Is there anything you want to do when you come to Alaska that you have not done yet?

BETTS: I always like to see galleries and I like history. Almost every place that I go, people take me to museums. I love hearing about bears and about people who grew up there. Some would tell about their mother driving all the way to Alaska from Florida — love true stories. (I) got to drive a dog team in Fairbanks, the one with the wheels, because it was summer. (I drove) by myself, the owner got off! I loved it. I was so excited that I couldn’t even sleep that night. When I paint at Disney’s Art and Gardens, they ask me what I like (best) in my whole life, and I always say driving a dog sled. I love the people, any place in the world.

BACH: You seem to be particularly fond of the southern homes. Have you painted some Alaskana, or do you leave that to Alaskans?

BETTS: When I taught in Juneau, I could not believe that the governor’s mansion was like the one in Louisiana. I thought that it would be … like a big conference center with huge beams and (animal) heads. All architecture fascinates me, wherever we are — Austria, England, Scotland, Bulgaria and Hungary. Sometimes I am not there long enough to really have a passion for them, but I love old churches, cathedrals, (and) old stores.

BACH: What is one of your favorite places where you have taught?

BETTS: Asia, and especially Japan. Well, at this point it is, because we have been there several times. And, of course, I love the U.S.! (Also) Norway; taught twice in Norway and Sweden.

BACH: Do you ever get tired of traveling?

BETTS: No, I definitely say no. The people are interesting, and I am intrigued with new images, seeing things I haven’t seen, different foliage, (and) animals. I remember I taught in Kansas and we went out in trailers, like a hay wagon, but not, and saw buffalo. Getting to the place is always as interesting as being there. I had never seen herds of buffalo. You could have wiped their drippy noses. I just read something in an advertisement in Architectural Digest that said, “Every drama needs an intermission.” I think that is a neat thought. Traveling is like living in a drama, and home is like intermission. But I never tire of traveling; it doesn’t bother me at all. (I like) the manmade things like restaurants and grocery stores, and I also like the natural, like (the scenery) driving from Anchorage to Homer, and then driving back the weather was different and it was so big! Everything is big, the people, the tires, the mountains. Distances are so great. Everything is so far away. The time (my husband) Tom came to Anchorage, we were going to drive to Fairbanks and mileage-wise, everything is much larger than you think. We only made it to Denali. In regards to traveling, at the Academy Awards they played “What a Wonderful World.” Why wouldn’t you want to travel on different times and seasons, not to mention day and night? I like to do night paintings, like the capital in Washington, D.C. It is a whole new thing.

BACH: Tell me something new that you are doing.

BETTS: Last week in Arlington, Texas, I taught a new workshop. I taught there a lot, so the director asked me to teach something different. Many people bring pictures of children, so I taught the whole workshop on babies, toddlers and children. The model boy, only 20 months old, he didn’t stay still at all. I just kept looking at him and he, just like a puppy, turns and wiggles and then goes back to that same pose. Lots of people did well, and every day we had a new model. We had him five minutes or less, but had several in one day. A Chinese girl, 7, sat still for 15 minutes holding her doll. We said, “Do you want a break?” She said, “No,” and everybody got a good (painting).

BACH: How do you find time to write books?

BETTS: When I was preparing for us painting children, I took one of my large sketchbooks and I grouped by ages. The lady at Office Depot showed me her baby pictures, a little black baby in a pink basket. I have Asian, black, all ages gathered into one book. Tom said, “Oh! We can publish that.” So we made a book without trying. We both said, “That’s a book.” (One of my mentors) Barse Miller said, “Anyone who can paint watercolor portraits has it made.” I just remembered that. I have lots of sketches in my house that could be a book.

BACH: What are your career goals, or do you feel you have met them all?

BETTS: I think that all of us feel that the next one will be the best one, the next painting, the next meal, the next trip. One thing that I really like is when my work is chosen for publication. Just this week, my work will be on the cover of a local exhibit. I like teaching at Louisiana State University in interior design. When I get asked, I get so excited. When you asked me, I hope that you can tell that I was so excited. I couldn’t even pronounce Matanuska, but I was so excited to be invited there. I have been invited to Japan, etc. One hopes that that continues and that it doesn’t end. I love to paint and I hope that I can paint a long time

BACH: I know that you continue to receive lots of honors. Tell me about some of them.

BETTS: When I get notified it almost paralyzes me, I am just in another world I get so excited. My drawing is going to be in a book published by Northlight Publishers, and it is called “Strokes of Genius.” That is the title of the book. My painting was accepted in the American Watercolor Society and for a whole year it will travel as a group throughout the U.S. In June, I will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Watercolor USA Honor Society. They told me a year and a half ago to make sure I would be there. It is located in Springfield, Mo., at the museum. When you are notified it is sort of mind boggling.

BACH: Do you have a final thought?

BETTS: Final thought — we work so hard to make it look so easy!

Suzanne Bach is the Fine Arts Coordinator at Mat-Su College and Director of the Machetanz Art Festival.