Description

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Pick up only (Questions? Contact Ella at the Gallery; 541-490-8757)

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Item#: 71

Artist: Betty (“Bette”) Johnson

(1923-2016)

From Anderson’s Tribute Center:
Betty “Bette” Hazel Johnson was renowned throughout the Columbia Gorge for her artistry. She enjoyed painting the varied landscapes and beautiful flowers that surrounded her home, and equally enjoyed sitting and painting at other venues throughout the area. She studied painting formally at the Peninsula Arts and Crafts School in Burlingame, CA, but most of her artistic training came informally from her insatiable curiosity and experimentation with many different mediums. On any day, passersby were likely to see Bette, laden with art materials and a folding chair, traipsing through the local landscape in search of the perfect place to paint. Her beloved friend, Peggy Dills Kelter, often joined her. They painted together for many years.

Bette’s paintings hang in many homes and businesses, including the dialysis department at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. In 1995 her painting of an orchard in bloom was selected to adorn the Apple Jam Music Festival poster.

Unknown to many, Bette was also a talented cartoonist. She delighted in drawing caricatures, often giggling as she brought the characters to life on paper. She was the genius behind the Ugly Local cartoons. She depicted the year-round residents of our community with wit and humor. Her delightful cartoons took a derogatory comment – “There are lots of ugly locals here in Hood River”—and turned it into a symbol of local pride. Her designs were printed on shirts and worn by hundreds of local citizens. Recently, these same caricatures were used as a fundraiser for the local United Way.