I love the challenge and rewards of landscape painting outdoors where two of my greatest
passions, nature and painting, combine to offer endless opportunities of exploration and
discovery. What I love most about plein air painting is simple in theory: directly observing
changing light and weather conditions, and their effects on compositions and moods in the
landscape. However, it can be complex in execution: grasping to quickly capture these fleeting
moments and moods, all while exposed to the elements and the whims of mother nature. It
presents an intriguing dichotomy of slowing down to observe but hurrying up to respond. I pay
homage to many artists of centuries past who have painted their surrounds, but I aim to
capture a mood specific to my own locale and time. For me, it is an incredible privilege and
pleasure to spend a few hours immersed in nature, a reminder that we are all part of this
natural world which needs our understanding and protection more than ever. I hope that in
turn my paintings connect with viewers and encourage them to take note of their own
surrounds, seeing anew what may have become ordinary through time. Taking a fresh look
around could help us all to find commonality and inspire empathy, tools we will need to get us
through future trials.

Pamela Betts is based in the Washington, DC metro area. She received her BA in Fine Art at Moravian College (now University) in Bethlehem, PA in 1990. Through her love of art, she discovered art conservation and earned a Master of Science in Art Conservation from Winterthur Museum/University of Delaware in 2000. As an art conservator, she has cherished the opportunity to closely study the various methods and materials used by centuries of painters. Pamela is also an award-winning artist who has competed in plein air competitions in Maryland and Virginia and has exhibited her work in galleries in the DC metro area and West Virginia.

Pamela long focused on figure drawing from life before more recently returning to landscape painting with oil paint. A culmination of several events led her back into exploring her natural surroundings, a favorite childhood pastime growing up on a small farm. Painting outdoors ‘en plein air', Pamela embraces the challenge of directly observing and recording changing sensations of light and atmosphere, responding to these effects with compelling compositions and moods. Although the landscape is now her main stimulus, Pamela enjoys occasionally switching back to the figure or to still life which complements her artistic practice. She hopes her work might encourage others to take note of their own surroundings, seeing anew what may have become ordinary through time, and perhaps in the process finding commonality and inspiring empathy.

2024

30th Juried Annual Friends of the Yellow Barn Member Show, Glen Echo, MD.

Rockville Art League, Juried Members’ Winter Show, Rockville, MD. Third Prize Oil and Acrylics for The Swallow’s Tale (Judge: Lorena Bradford, Museum Educator and Manager of Accessible Programs, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)

Featured artist, Arts Club of Washington, October 4- October 25, 2017 I St NW, Washington, DC

Suffolk Plein Air Festival, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, Suffolk, VA. Awarded The 'Betsy Brothers Best Use of Light Award' for Smokehouse on a Hot Day (Juror: Gavin Glakas, artist and instructor, McLean, VA)

Art in Bloom, Selected artworks by Pamela Betts and Holly Buehler, Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD

Paint It! Ellicott City, Juried Artist, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD. First Place (Gino Award) for A Cascade of Light on the Patapsco (Union Dam Trail) (Juror: Abigail McBride, artist and instructor, Chesapeake City, MD)

Walt Bartman and the Goldfinch Studio Painters, Group Landscape Show and Plein Air Garden Tour, Bridge Gallery, Shepherdstown, WV

Local Flavor/Local Artists -2nd Annual DMV Exhibition, Juried show, Calloway Fine Art & Consulting, Washington, DC

Waverly Street Gallery Invitational Show, Bethesda, MD.

2023

Paint It! Ellicott City, Juried Artist, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD. Second Place Award for Secluded tributary, Patapsco Park (Juror: Doris Glovier, artist and instructor, Pocomoke City, MD)

Savage Paint Out, Open Artist, Baldwin Common, Savage, MD. Honorable Mention Award for The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge (Juror: Robin Holliday Owner/Curator, HorseSpirit Arts Gallery, Savage, MD)

Being Seen, Juried Artist, TAG/The Artists’ Gallery, Frederick, MD. Honorable Mention Award for Spirit of the Chimes (Juror: Matt Klos, co-owner of Exeter Gallery, Baltimore, MD)

2022

28th Annual Friends of the Yellow Barn Member Show, Juried Artist, Yellow Barn Gallery, Glen Echo, MD. Honorable Mention Award for Autumn Harvest (Juror: Ingrid Christensen, Contemporary Impressionist Painter and Instructor, Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Suffolk Plein Air Festival, Juried Artist, Suffolk Center Art Galleries, Suffolk, VA (Juror: Victor Frailing, Photographer, Suffolk, VA)

Paint It! Ellicott City, Juried Artist, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD (Juror: Ron Donoughe, Landscape Painter, Pittsburgh, PA).

Paint Annapolis, Open Artist, Maryland Federation of Art’s Pop-Up Gallery at 4 Church Circle, Annapolis, MD.

The Power of the Flower: Portraits of Buds and Blooms, Group Exhibition, Yellow Barn Gallery, Glen Echo, MD

2021

27th Annual Friends of the Yellow Barn Member Show, Juried Artist, Yellow Barn Gallery, Glen Echo, MD

The Spirit of the Landscape: Painted Visions, Group Exhibition, Yellow Barn Gallery, Glen Echo, MD

Paint Annapolis, Open Artist, Maryland Federation of Art’s Pop-Up Gallery at 4 Church Circle, Annapolis, MD. Second Place Award for Quiet Shimmer, (Juror: Bruno Baran, Chairman of the Board, Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association)

Paint It! Ellicott City, Juried Artist, Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD

The Artists of Walt Bartman’s Goldfish Studio, (Selected Recent Works), The Wren’s Nest Collaborative Space, Middleton, MD

MAPAPA's Big Winter Show, Juried Artist, Artist Emporium, Havre de Grace, MD

2020

The Last Eight Months: Seven Artists, The Liriodendron Mansion, Bel Air, MD (Susan Tobin, Exhibition Curator)