Portfolio of Works
The Heavens & Earth
Our world is beautiful...but it's broken. Anyone can name a dozen ways this is happening. The devastation of climate change alone brings images into our homes everyday. Droughts causing mass famine, melting polar ice caps, floods, hurricanes, tornados and the weather-related tragedies that ensue.
But, there is another dire threat to the Earth that is happening underground. It affects the very infrastructure of the land we walk on, turning it into a ticking time bomb. It poisons the air we breathe and uses water, our most precious and vital resource, to do the dirty work turning billions of gallons of our life source into toxic waste on a daily basis before 'disposing' of it. The Earth is being destroyed as a habitable planet for future generations. But the Earth will live on - it's the species extinction that includes us that will be the most tragic outcome of our disconnection from the giver of life that is our Mother Earth.
'How could this happen,' you say. 'There are regulations!' Walk with me as I tell the story. I've tried to ease the journey for you by finding beauty in the pain. .
This project will tell the story of ‘fracking,’ a method being used to gain access to natural gas and oil buried miles beneath the Earth’s surface. This insidious industry purports to bring jobs, economic development and raise quality of life, particularly in rural areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that insiders have termed the “Appalachian Miracle”. What the people receive instead are ruined waterways, contaminated air, decreased property values and serious health issues. Through a government loophole the industry is not regulated, nor is the astounding amount of wastewater that is generated containing over 600 harmful chemicals.
Through my encaustic paintings I will show the beauty of the shale layers that contain the natural gas and oil in the earth, the water that carries life and joy throughout the region, and the atmospheric beauty of the sky containing the air we breathe…The Heavens and Earth – all in jeopardy due to the practice of fracking. Brief commentary will accompany each piece to walk viewers through the process and educate them on the subject. Suggestions and materials for taking action on this topic will be provided. 25% of the proceeds from sales of the paintings will benefit the Freshwater Accountability Project, an Ohio-based nonprofit.
Encaustic Paintings
Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, resin and pigment), which is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to an absorbent surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint. The word ‘encaustic’ comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in, referring to the process of fusing the paint.
Oil Paintings - Plein Air
The opportunity to experience painting outdoors, or en plein air, is an exciting and amazing sensory adventure!
Oil Paintings - Studio
Do you have a gorgeous photo from your favorite vacation spot? I can transform your photo into a beautiful oil painting for your home.
Contact the artist at 419-308-7530, [email protected], or visit her website at www.BethGenson.com.
