Betsy Ranck has been influenced by the the world outside since elementary school. In the classroom, her attention was always often diverted to the windows and what lay beyond. Art education began early at the elbow of her mother, in the Boyd Studio of Leonia, NJ. While her mother painted, Betsy crafted small dogs from clay Harriet Boyd supplied to occupy her mind and hands. After that it seemed, creativity was to be her focus. Betsy went on to study studio art at Stratford College and continued to paint during the years she raised three children.

After a move to Austin, Texas, Betsy turned to her easel and began studio painting. She continued studies with Michael Workman and Stuart Shils. She had an opening in 2002 at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. After a move to Fredericksburg, Texas, she began showing there at the Good Art Gallery. Betsy, with her husband Bill, retired to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2012. She is now in her third year at the Worrell Gallery in downtown Santa Fe.

If paint can transfer the feeling of place, time of day and effects of light on a building and surrounding planes, Betsy can feel a sense of accomplishment. The moment of discovery when finding “the subject” which draws all senses to the painting at hand, can be the defining endeavor. She explains that, working fast, with extreme concentration to capture that moment, is what painting outdoors is all about.

Betsy paints with oil and wax medium. She likes the matt surface the wax, when added to paint provides. Work is executed with a fully loaded brush to produce an impasto painted surface. Edges are often merged into one another to evoke a feeling of atmosphere. The challenge is to produce work that conjures memory of place.