Sandpoint artist announces gallery exhibit

Local artist Betty Billups made art her job after deciding her first career aspiration of nursing wasn’t for her.

“I saw somebody get a shot one time about passed out. I thought, ’OK, that one's off the list,’” she said.

Instead of helping people heal their body, Billups said, she decided she wanted to help them heal in another way.

“Doctors and the medical profession heal your body. The other thing that needs healing is your soul, and your spirit,” she said. “We've got these three things, our ears, our eyes, and our mouth, reading your beautiful music, beautiful poetry ... I tried piano one time, and I gave up after three weeks, I think. I couldn't figure out how to get your fingers working that way, you know, so everything I tried didn't work. So I ended up doing the art.”

Billups, a professional artist since 1975, does impressionist oil paintings. On Thursday, June 10, Billups will host the exhibit opening for her latest art showcase from 5-7 p.m. at the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center in Post Falls.

Billups’ work, which has graced many homes and businesses, including numerous murals, wasn’t always appreciated the way it is now, though. When she started her career, many customers preferred photorealistic paintings to her style.

“Back around the ’80s, I think it was, I went, I loaded up my car with paintings,” she said. “I went to every gallery I could find … I made appointments, and I went and saw the galleries. And believe it or not, every single gallery owner that looked at my work said almost identically the same thing. ‘We don't handle work that loose.’”

Despite those challenges, Billups never stopped painting what felt right to her, she said. She tried once to do a photorealistic painting and hated, she said, because it felt “soulless.”

“To people who like photorealism it was great, but it didn't satisfy me,” she said.

Billups started delving further into her impressionism, and found the technique that suited her best involved loading her brush with paint and putting it down on the canvas.

Many artists will try to blend every edge of a painting to perfection, she said, but ironically, that often results in a painting that looks less alive. Rendering a detailed image exactly doesn’t always capture the spirit of it.

One friend and customer described Billups’ technique with the paint as “putting it down and letting it go.”

“It's like diving into a pool, you just pray to God [that] you don't break your neck or whatever. And if you come out successful you go, maybe I can do it better the next time. And so I think that in all things that we do in life, if we always play it safe, we'll never achieve anything,” she said. “I think that's why people look at my work and they say, ‘Your work is so passionate,’ I think it's because of that choice I've made in jumping off and risking losing it to make it right.”

Billups exhibit, which runs through July 10, will include close to 50 paintings including several “plein air” landscapes and figure paintings. Billups has also put several pieces in more affordable frames to keep the costs down, and has paintings ranging in size, with some as small as a credit card.

The exhibit opening will also have wine and snacks provided, and a jazz concert by the David Larsen quartet will be held following the opening.

Billups will also be showcasing 16 never-before-seen paintings by her late husband, Robert Walton, who died on May 20.

Billups will also donate a portion of her sales to charities including the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sandpoint, the St. Jude Children's Research Fund, Wounded Warrior Project, Society of the Little Flower, Saint Stephens Indian Mission, Salesian Missions and The Nature Conservancy.

The event can be found online at https://bit.ly/3vYbasP.