Bette Bates

Most of the drawings are done on Arches cold press watercolor paper.

They begin with ink wash and coffee as a background and then conte crayon is used to draw the image. I love the interaction between the chaotic background and the drawn image.

  

I am especially interested in the ways images from mythology and religion shape our lives. The dream-like creativity combined with reality that is found in myth, religion and folk tales is very powerful. I’ve been interested in the image of Eve, in particular, for a number of years because of the negative portrayal of the first woman and “mother of all the living” in the Genesis story. I question the sustainability of a culture with a creation story that denigrates women and nature.

 

Statement for

Elizabeth Ross Gallery

Central Piedmont Community College

Bette Bates, 2007

 

Resume