Nov. 3, 2003 – A solo show of works by St. Croix artist Betsy Campen will go on exhibit at Mango Tango Art Gallery on Friday evening with a meet-the-artist reception.
Campen, who paints in the oil and watercolor mediums, describes herself as a photo-realist — an artist whose images have the fidelity of the camera's lens, as opposed to an impressionistic or abstract interpretation of what the eye perceives. And she says her subject matter encompasses "all things Caribbean."
A full-time painter on St. Croix since 1989, Campen will be showing 12 original watercolors and giclee prints of both oils and watercolors. They include several of the detailed florals for which she is known, along with new St. Thomas harbor, historic building and landscape scenes, as well as St. Croix landscapes.
Campen, who holds a bachelor of fine art degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, says she has "always has a love affair with the beauty of flowers." She is a member of the local Orchid Society and St. George Village Botanical Garden. She recalls that "after Hurricane Hugo stripped the island of flowers, I concentrated on painting the flowers that would eventually come back, but were nowhere to be seen for a while."
According to Mango Tango Gallery co-owner Jane Coombes, "the key word to describe Campen is versatility."
For more information about and images of the artist's work, visit the Betsy Campen Web site.
The public is invited to meet Campen and her husband, Jim Biserowski, at the opening reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the gallery in Al Cohen's Plaza atop Raphune Hill. There'll be champagne, hors d'oeuvres and live music by 2 Blue Shoes — the duo of Smokey Pratt, who's the co-owner of Mango Tango, and John Brittain.
The show will hang for a month. To learn more, call the gallery at 777-3060.
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