Sunday, October 25, 2009

Remembering Liza

Liza - Acrylics on an 8 x 10 Canvas Panel (c)Betty Refour 2009

One of the most influential people in my life was my maternal grandmother. While my mom encouraged academics she fueled my desire to be an artist. When mom bought books she bought art supplies. She taught me how to knit and sew and would encourage me to draw and paint.

One of the many things I learned from Liza, as we called her, was the idea of giving back. She encouraged me to do volunteer work and to donate money to causes I believed in whenever I could. Little did I know just how important those ideals would become in my life. In 1986 after a courageous battle with Breast Cancer we lost Liza and I became an advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness.

In the years since I have had several friends diagnosed with Breast Cancer some have survived and others have not but I do whatever I can to promote awareness through art in honor of Liza and countless others.


We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go in the battle against Breast Cancer so please do all that you can to support awareness.


This painting is part of the EBSQ online show Think Pink.
Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Strength In Numbers

Strength in Numbers (c)Betty Refour - 2009 mixed media on paper

I belong to the Etsy Street Team, Etsy Twitter. We are a group of sellers on the handmade site Etsy who also Tweet. One of our members, Joyce Richards was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and then later found that it had spread to her brain. Our team is doing a variety of fund raising events to help raise funds for Joyce and this is my contribution. Reproductions of this painting are for sale in my etsy shop with 50% of the proceeds being donated to a fund that has been started to help Joyce offset the cost of her rising medical bills. I truly do believe that there is strength in numbers.

Please visit the EtsyTwitter Team and Punky Jane blogs to find out more about what you can do to help Joyce. Have a great day everybody thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

His Dreams Were Uneasy

His Dreams Were Uneasy (c)20009 - Betty Refour

This was done using oil pastels and acrylics on an 8 x 10 canvas panel. You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Reflections

Reflections - (c) 2009 Betty Refour - Acrylics on an 8 x 10 Canvas Panel

This is my newest work. Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

What Was She Thinking?

Wonder - (c) Rose Refour - 2009 - Acrylic on Canvas Panel

I always wonder what Rose is thinking when she paints. Before she starts she walks around the studio and looks at my work as well as images of hers, selects her palette and begins. She will often stop and look around again as if to draw inspiration, and when she's done she brings me her brush as if to say, "I'm finished!" She loves to draw but I'm not sure she would paint if I didn't encourage her. This is probably my favorite piece to date and I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with next.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I'm Featured!!!

I was featured today at Art from the heart. Take a look here

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Her Dreams Were Of Colors

Her Dreams Were Of Colors (c)Betty Refour Acrylics on Canvas Panel 2009

This painting is about an artist who constantly thought about color so much so that her dreams were of colors. You can find it for sale in my etsy shop.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Etsy Twitter Team Sidewalk Sale!


The Etsy Twitter Team is having a Sidewalk Sale! Please take a stroll down our sidewalk of shop listings. Each shop is having a different sale so be sure to check them all out. There are some extremely great deals going on this week!! The sales run from Sunday, May 17th through Saturday, May 23rd.

During the sale I will be offering 10% off on purchases of $15.00 or more! This is in addition to the already reduced prices in my shop - most art is now 50% off. Visit my shop at http://brefour.etsy.com and to see all the participating shops and stroll the sidewalk visit the Etsy Twitter Team Blog. You don't want to miss out on these great deals.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What Did You Do Today?

Glass Pendants by Rose and Betty Refour (c)


I've been looking for something to do with all the images that Rose has drawn. We've done cards, magnets and tees but I wanted to do something else. She likes to draw small sometimes and so I decided to see how her images would look as glass pendants. Today we each took one of our images and cut them to fit these tiles. This is our first attempt so we still have some kinks to work out but I don't think they turned out half bad. The best part is that she enjoyed it and it is sometimes hard to find things that will keep her interest. The one on the right is hers. So...what did you do today?

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.