“Nostalgia” is one of Betty Jean Kennedy’s favorite acrylic paintings.
It doesn’t take long for a new member of the Art Club to meet Betty Jean Kennedy.
A former president of the club and the Artist of the Year in 2014, Betty Jean has held more jobs and created more programs than most can count, including the very popular 30-30 Sketching Group that keeps club members engaged over the summer. She worked hard to keep the Wednesday sessions for members going, taking over the monthly critique when its organizer moved away. She started sketchers workshops as well as the Copying the Masters series with another club member. She’s a fixture at Open Studio and for many years took care of the Coyote Room, ordering supplies and keeping all in order. When a volunteer is needed, Betty Jean is often the first to answer the call.
Born and raised on a small farm in Nebraska, she had little exposure to art until she and her husband David retired and spent their winters along the Texas gulf. There she joined a small group of watercolor painters who met informally once a week. She enjoyed it—but the paints sat unused until it was summer again.
She says her artistic journey really began in 2011 when they moved to PebbleCreek to be near their daughter’s family. She joined the Art Club and began exploring other mediums, particularly acrylics and pastels.
Her artwork is inspired by the beauty and complexity she finds in flowers, the textures and colors of fruits, vegetables, weathered wood, glass, metal, water drops, reflections … anything that poses a challenge. Many of her paintings are set on a black background and easily recognized for their meticulous attention to detail. Her technique has developed gradually over the years, refined by experience and the suggestions and critique of fellow artists.
Among her favorite acrylic paintings are “Let’s See What You’re Made Of,” a depiction of a whimsical metal sculpture of a vulture in Vulture City, Arizona, and the nostalgic piece “Memories” of a child’s rusty Radio Flyer wagon paired with wooden blocks.
Her pastel paintings are filled with the vibrant and intense colors possible with the medium. “Life is a Bowl of Cherries” shows cherries in an etched antique glass dish, and “Radishes” depicts washed radishes with a knife on a cutting board.
Because she knows firsthand what is possible with practice and work, it’s her goal to encourage others to become involved in art, join the Art Club, come to Open Studio, and be surprised to discover what they, too, can do. Volunteering and “showing up” added a whole dimension for Betty Jean, and she hopes others will see what it would do for them.