Artist of the Month: Betsy Havira goes big and bold at Abide Coffeehouse
May 27—Betsy Havira doesn't shy away from going big when it comes to her art. Abide Coffeehouse is alive this May with Betsy Havira's large frame-free canvases of abstract flowers.
It's hard not to notice Havira's signature lighting up the popular Wilkes-Barre coffee shop. She enjoys working on big canvases that don't require a frame and always signs off all her paintings loud and proud, like a New York City high-lifer. It's her signature brand! So, appropriately the collection on display is called "Brand New."
Betsy doesn't just do flowers — she's done portraits, landscapes, pet portraits, animals and everything in between. Watercolors and acrylics are two of her favorite mediums, but she's explored art in countless new and different ways. Havira also enjoys giving new life to old pieces she finds rummaging through auctions and flea markets. She salvages unwanted, forgotten items and upgrades them into spectacular home decorations.
"I like to revive things, restore things, and recycle. It doesn't have to have intrinsic value, just if it's pleasant to look at," said Havira in her artist statement.
Betsy Havira's home and studio is in Bear Creek Township with her husband Carl, where you can lose yourself in their display of beautiful artwork and creativity, where in nearly every room of her home you can find something Betsy has salvaged. She creates in her studio all year round and her home represents her work both inside and out.
Betsy's love for art began as student in the 1960s with Nicholo Cortiglia and where she met her lifelong friend, Beverly Jean Johnston of Wyoming Valley Art League, who was also a student. The studio was located on North Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre, near King's College. Havira also studied with Robert Cray, Mike Molnar, Jane Bukowski, Doug Brown and Martha Samson.
There, she says she learned by osmosis. Taking from the energy in the room, she realized she could do things that she never thought she could!
"So, if there's ever something you want to do — and I tell people when they say 'Oh no, I couldn't do that' — well you don't know until you try!" said Havira. "The hardest part about doing anything is getting started."
"Where to start? Well, I knew I didn't know where to start when I first started," laughed Havira. But, she says once you set your mind to something, once you have a desire to do it — you're going to find a way. And Betsy Havira always finds a way to make her art.
One thing that inspired the "signature" branding notable throughout this collection was watching a home improvement show. She fell in love with the way the creator works large and blasts the canvas with color.
I asked Havira her creative vision just comes to her and she said simply, "No." First, she determines the center of the work and just works her way out from there. "I don't prefer to be what they consider to be a tight painter. Very loose," said Havira.
She enjoys creating large works that don't require framing. You can place Betsy Havira's pieces right up on the wall because she noticed a lot of people mistakenly forget that the frame is not the art you're buying. So, she eliminated the need for one.
Havira's work hangs in homes throughout the community. She believes you should hang your art on the wall wherever feels right. In fact, she had a portrait of George Washington up in her bathroom because she said, it looked good there! "It doesn't have to belong in a kitchen or belong in a bathroom. Wherever you would enjoy it," said Havira.
Betsy Havira said she always wanted to start doing art, even from a young age. She started with painting the sidewalk in front of her childhood home in a faux fieldstone design, after that she began creating with anything and everything. "Whatever I could get my hands on. So, then I was married around age 24 and ever since then, I did nothing but create, along with three children. In our home in Bear Creek, we've used the fieldstone in and on the land to face the house, to build fireplaces, indoors and out."
She thinks big and bold with her artwork and believes art is made to be enjoyed. There's no fear, Havira dives right into each new painting or project headfirst. Her personality comes out clearly in every reworked object and eye-catching painting.
Betsy Havira started doing exhibitions in 2005 and her artwork has been displayed at the Wyoming Valley Art League, Marquis Art and Frame, Fine Arts Fiesta, Hillside Farms, McDonald Art Gallery at Misericordia, Something Special, Pierce Deli, Back Mountain Bloomers, and with Sabine Thomas and Jean Swisher.
Her "Brand New" collection of abstract flowers will decorate the walls at Abide Coffeehouse through the beginning of June. Stop in for a coffee and have a look around!
