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Betty, Day7,8,9/100 Warratahstree's 100 Days of Portraits





    I don't feel that this drawing really does Betty any justice but the whole purpose behind doing these portraits over the next 100 days for The 100 day project  I am working on, is to really learn about portrait and to remember those people who came into my life whether for a short time or a long period of time. I want to use these portraits to remember the influence they had on my life. Betty is one of those people and I hope that even though I don't feel that this portrait looks exactly like her, I can still look at that portrait and see Betty in my mind when she was in her twenties.  I was just 19 years old 20 years old when I met her and so I hope I did her justice. I used 2 different images to get the look. Betty had these most amazing features in her face, she had these nice plump round cheeks and dimples in her cheeks,  beautiful sandy blond hair that was so long it came to her waist.  I just wanted to capture that look as much as I can and capture her personality at the same time. 

 Here is Betty's story
 
    I remember meeting Betty when I came to Bethel House in Jackson, MS. Betty was the pastor's wife at Bethel House. Bethel had a service on Tuesday and Saturday nights.  Her husband Dan would preach and Betty would play the piano. Bethel House wasn’t just a bunch of Christians meeting together it was like we were all one big family together. We all would care for each other and help one another through difficult times and good times. So I wanted to remember Betty and Dan through some of my portrait work than I'm working on. Betty had such a sweet sweet gentle caring spirit and she was always there when I needed someone to talk to. Not only did Betty sing but she played several instruments.

   One of the things I remember the most about Betty is one time I had a really difficult day and I came to visit her when I was washing my clothes at the laundromat next door to Bethel house.  I came to have a little visit and she just knew without me saying anything that I wasn't having a really good day at all.  She sat down she told me she understood what I was going through and she prayed with me. It made me feel so loved and cared for.

  Bethel House was a house church and would often take in people who needed a place to stay.  Betty and Dan took my first husband and I in when we had nowhere else to stay with our young son Phillip.  We were in a strange place in a different house and it was always great to have someone like Betty there who was loving, kind and caring. Betty would come in the room and she would be so gentle and kind and pray with me whenever Phillip was upset or scared.

 Bethel house is no longer.  However, many of the members who were a part of the original Bethel House, had a "Reunion" on Facebook over the 2020 Easter break.  We all grew up together as young teenagers and young adults during the Jesus Movement in Jackson Mississippi.  I will always remember Betty and her husband Dan and those days at Bethel House.


The whole purpose of doing this 100 day project is really to get better at doing portrait but also be able to capture the character of each one of the people in my life who have been the greatest influences in my life. Art is often about capturing a moment in time.  I want to capture those moments of time in my life and to tell their stories as well.



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