After 30 years as a graphic artist running her own graphic design business, Beth Bathe “rediscovered” the joy of oil painting and became a devoted plein air artist!  The daughter of a dad who was a commercial artist, painter, interior designer and all around “Renaissance man,” she says that art was always a part of her life and it lead her to earning a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Her plein air style incorporates water soluble oils in thin washes with unconventional tools such as squeegees, Qtips and paper towels. Her subject matter includes finding beauty in buildings that are beyond their prime, they might be abandoned, or derelict, or soon to be part of the vanishing landscape. A barn without a roof, an old garage, a back alley, a fire escape, an old mill, an old split rail fence down a country road.

Her fine art oil paintings include figurative, still life and landscapes. She has become very involved in the plein air movement of painting outdoors and also teaches classes and leads workshops at her studio, Short Dog Studio, in Ephrata, PA.  Beth is a member of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters (MAPAPA), Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters(SVPAP), Daily Painters of Pennsylvania and Daily Paintworks. This past February 2016 she participated in the Plein Air Magazine Invitational trip to Cuba.

She has participated in numerous national Plein Air Competitions over the past several years, winning numerous awards, including Judge’s Choice Award at Plein Air Easton, Second Place at Mountain Maryland, Best in Show/Artist Choice Award at Paint Snow Hill MD and the Donald Lewis Memorial Award at Bath County Plein Air.

Artist’s Statement: When I first started painting I just thought it was something I’d like to do. I loved studying, practicing and watching my paintings evolve. I also started to evolve. Currently I am very involved with plein air competitions. In 2016, I participated in about ten competitions, from Maine to Washington State. I paint with Cobra water soluble oils, in a very limited tonal palette. My tools include squeegees, toothpicks, paper towels and Qtips giving my paintings a washy, vintage feel. My subject matter includes finding beauty in buildings that are often beyond their prime. They might be abandoned, or derelict, or soon to be part of the vanishing landscape, A barn without a roof, an old garage, a back alley, a fire escape, an old mill, or a old split rail fence down a country road. Artist David Leffel states that “Painting is like an interlocking set of relationships — color, edges, values, thick and thin, etc. Life is the same. Everything is interrelated.” I love the way that painting has become such a large part of my life. I now see the world through the eyes of a painter, and it is a beautiful, bright world indeed.