Painting Over a Painting

RAD gallerist offers the latest perspective on storm clouds

Painter and River Arts District gallerist Mark Bettis is eager to dispel some tenacious misunderstandings. “A lot of people think it’s easy being an artist. But not only do you have to be creative, artistic, and productive, you also have to rely on sales and build those up over time. We all have to play this dance.” 

When Hurricane Helene destroyed 80 percent of the River Arts District last fall, those dance moves became next-level difficult. 

Bettis’s self-named space is on Roberts Street, in a block where some venues escaped major impact.

“Luckily, my studio wasn’t damaged in any way except financially. We had to shut down, and when we reopened I took on four displaced artists and brought them into my space where I’ve been for about 12 years. But still nobody was coming back into the gallery, at a time when we needed them the most, because people had the impression that the RAD no longer existed.”

Eleven months in at press time, “volume has picked up a little,” says Bettis, “but I still face issues trying to get people to understand that the RAD is still here and isn’t closed. I get calls all the time from people asking, ‘Since the artist district is closed, where else can we go to see and buy art?’ 

Maybe pirouettes are a daunting challenge with so many stumbling blocks, obstacles, and literal mud and debris underfoot. But thanks in part to a bucolic home studio, Bettis has managed to pivot.

“A year-and-a-half ago I moved out in the country to an old farm on 20 acres with a barn that I’ve converted into my art studio.” For 12 years, he had his studio in his gallery, right behind the cash register, affording him little creative solitude or precious privacy. “I worked in front of people all day. I’d paint a while, and then I’d have to take my gloves off to help people before I could go back to painting. After a while it was second nature. But now, having my own space, I’m spoiled, and I don’t know if I could go back to that way of working. 

“I have a place where I can create without interruptions, and also be out here with nature. I really like it. It’s quiet — and I never really worked from home until I got this studio built. I can take the dogs out, mow the lawn, do some gardening, and then go back to painting whenever I want. 

“I’m inspired by the rolling hills and the skies and amazing clouds out here, and I find myself looking at their formations — painting lots of storm clouds and dark skies. I like the drama and I still use a lot of color, and stormy is intense and fun to do.”

This from an artist whose livelihood was almost obliterated by dramatic storm clouds lingering overhead, like the proverbial sword of Damocles.

But Bettis grew up working in his family business, a music store, starting at age 12. And it helped nurture his practical side. “A lot of people don’t want to sell their own art, because the creative side is so different from the business side. But I’m pretty good at it.” After art school, Bettis also worked for an ad agency and ran a design studio with a staff of 16 artists — coincidentally the same number of artists he now represents in his gallery. 

It’s all about layers for Bettis, who uses cold wax and oil to build up levels of interest and emotion on his canvases. “Lately I’m also doing some acrylic and collage, and go over it with oils as I build layers and textures. What I absolutely love doing is painting over a painting I wasn’t happy with, so the finished painting has all that history. 

“I reworked one that was completely different in the end, but underneath you could see little traces of the old one.” 

He mentions that he and his partner Nabil El Jaouhari, who’s also a painter, bought a printing press from a friend. 

“So I may dabble in that,” muses Bettis, “incorporating linoleum or wood-cut printing into my painting and collage materials. 

“Always new things to come.” 

Mark Bettis Gallery, 123 Roberts St. in Asheville’s River Arts District, markbettisgallery.com, on IG @markbettisart and @mbettisgallery. This fall the gallery will host ‘828’ Small Works. Big Heart. Local Soul. The show runs October 11-25 with an opening reception on Saturday, Oct. 11, 4-6pm. Call 941-587-9502 for more information.