I am the cowgirl daughter of an old world rancher who taught me to get back up on my horse as soon as I hit the ground. During my childhood, I galloped over hundreds of rattlesnakes being careful not to let my horse get bit. I was seated next to John Wayne at the Rodeo while he was making “the Alamo” and I spent my summers in La Jolla, California where I played shuffleboard with Vincent Price. But as an adult, life became more about survival and being a painter was my route to raising three boys alone. Lucky to be the type of person who can see beauty all around me, I learned about color from the blooms of desert flowers that I found on the Texas and New Mexico prairies.
My art tells stories about listening, growth, change, romances, fragmentation, transformation, natural phenomenon, sensations, sex, the earth as home, cycles, relationships, and nature as it relates to man. My paintings are proof that I exist; they are the evidence of my personal energy. Art teaches me about the fragility of life and the benevolence and generosity of mankind. I make art in relentless pursuit of my life creating objects based upon my belief in Human possibilities.
Art is what keeps me feeling the wind in my hair. It is what the most appreciated moments of my life have revolved around. I listen to the voice of the work, becoming its creator and its true love all at the same time. – Bettie Ward, 2008
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