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Betsy Dillard Stroud began
painting at the age of eight when an insightful uncle gave her a set of
oils. Now, as a painter and
writer she resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was educated in Virginia
with a B. A. in art from Radford College and an M. A. in art history
from the University of Virginia. She had just completed all her course
work and her orals for the Ph. D in art history when, with the
publication of her book, Coming Hither—Going Hence, her career
took a decidedly different course.
She met and married a Texan, moved to Dallas, and began a
painting career. She had her first one-woman show in 1983 at Artisan's
Studio Gallery in Dallas and has pursued a painting career since that
time. Life changes brought her to Arizona in 1996, where the vibrancy
and spirit of both the Southwest and the East where she was born
continue to influence her work. When
asked what kind of artist she is, Stroud replies,” As a former art
historian aware of the fallacies of labeling, I’m a realistic,
abstract, impressionistic, expressionist who uses color and movement as
a major tool of self-expression.” Her most recent one woman exhibition
was in October, 1999 at the Roberts Gallery in el Pedregal in Carefree,
Arizona, and another one woman show is scheduled for October, 2000 at
Glendale Community College.
Stroud has had nineteen
one-woman exhibitions and has exhibited in over 140 state, regional,
national shows. Her
signature memberships attest to her competency and expertise. She is a
signature member of the American Watercolor Society in New York, the
National Watercolor Society in California, the Knickerbocker Artists,
The Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society in Colorado, the
Southwestern Watercolor Society (of which she is a former president) and
a life member of the Arizona Watercolor Society.
She has won nineteen major awards including the American
Watercolor Society’s High Winds Medal (1992) and the Artist Magazine
Award (1995.)
The Roberts Gallery at El
Pedregal in the Boulders, in Carefree, AZ,
and The Milagro Gallery in Tucson,
and the Courtyard Gallery in New Buffalo, MI. currently represent
Stroud. A workshop teacher
since 1987, she conducts workshops around the country and also teaches
part-time at the Scottsdale Artist School in Scottsdale, Arizona and the
Schemer Art Center in Phoenix. She has judged 27 shows
(including the
Adirondacks National Watermedia Exhibition) and is highly regarded as a
lecturer, juror, and teacher. Last year,
she was the sole juror for the
National Art Show in Farmington, New Mexico held at the Gateway Museum.
Her most recent awards are The Board of Directors Award in the
WASH International 2000 Exhibition in Houston, Texas, Best of Watercolor
in March, 2000 in the Tucson 2000 En Plein Air Competition sponsored by
the Cultural Arts Program of Tucson, Arizona, and Award of Distinction
in the Arizona National Watercolor Exhibition (September,00) Her work
hangs in over 200 corporate, private and hospital collections throughout
the United States with collectors in Japan, Australia, and the Bahamas.
She is the author of one published biography: Coming
Hither—Going Hence, and for over a decade has written for many art
publications, including American Artist magazine, Southwest Art
magazine, Watercolor, and Watercolor Magic magazines, and most recently,
The International Artist magazine, of which she was Associate Editor of
North America for two years.
Her work can also be found in
four books: The Best of Watercolor I; the Best of Watercolor
Abstracts; The Best of Watercolor
Composition and Design; and the Best
of Watercolor Texture. Recent
Articles about her work can be seen in the Summer,00, Spring ’99,
and 1998 Autumn issues of Watercolor Magic, and a big article written by
her “Painting from the Inside Out,” was published in the Summer 1999
issue of that same magazine. Ms. Stroud also has a recent article called “Abstract Art
and the Gleb J. Fracks Factor" that appeared in the June/July ’99 issue
of International Artist Magazine, and “We, the Jury” in the same
magazine. At present, Ms.
Stroud is working on a book about her painting techniques for Northlight
which will be released in 2002.
Betsy Dillard Stroud is listed
in Personalities of the South; the International Dictionary of
Distinguished Leadership, and the soon to be released Who’s Who
of American Women.
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