Betty J. Billups

As far back as she can remember, Betty (actually Elizabeth Jean Billups) has always gravitated toward art. The earliest she can recall goes back to third grade, staying after school to draw a picture of St. Francis with all the animals. Then the following year, being nurtured by an artist, a Pima Indian Girl, Aggie Easchief who lived with her family for a year, and who perhaps saved Betty from hating art due to a not-so-nice 4th grade teacher. Her first paying job was in 5th grade, when a fellow classmate paid her 50¢ to copy a Santa playing a pipe organ.

Throughout her first 18 years, she was asked to do bulletin boards, Christmas scenes in chalk on the board, and school annuals. Then upon entering junior college she chose art, “because nothing else in the curriculum was of interest.” Upon graduation, she went back and took shorthand and typing, in order to get a job. It was the time before women's lib, and since the Hanson’s Art History book did not mention one woman artist, Betty assumed women could not make it in the art field.

However a nice twist of fate saved her from being someone’s secretary: A friend’s vw bug broke down, and Dale needed a ride for an interview at the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design. Since Betty had a scholarship there in her junior year, she was more than glad to drive him. While Dale was being interviewed, Betty again got mesmerized by the wonderful work displayed in the halls.

After 2 years of professors saying how bad the school was, she had opted not to apply. But when Dale’s interview was over, she asked to be interviewed. When questioned what she wanted to major in, her exact quote was: “What is the stuff in the halls?” The woman needless to say, was not impressed. However, after supplying a portfolio, Betty was given an advanced standing of one semester, & she graduated 2 points off Distinction, at a 3.8 grade point average, January 1972.

On graduation day, her beloved instructor Joseph Morgan Henninger told her: “I think you will soon discover, that you have barely scratched the surface.” In all honesty, she realized she hadn’t even been to the “surface” to scratch it! 

Upon graduating from the LAACCD Billups was asked by Ron McKee to be Vice President of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA). She was solely responsible for organizing and publishing their annual Illustration West Catalogue, and it was delivered the night of the OPENING EXHIBITION, which was the first time in the history of SILA! The catalogue in past years, was usually 2 to 3 months late!

Because of this Billups was awarded an Air Force trip to St. Louis, to document the C9, the Air Forces’ medical plane. An Army official seeing the painting, commissioned Billups to create a painting of Sacajawea, the Indian woman who accompanied the Louis and Clark exhibition to the Pacific Ocean, in the early 1800s.

This commission brought her out of the illustration field, back into the fine arts when she was offered a one artist exhibition at the museum in Helena Montana,  at the Montana Historical Society, for the summer of 1977.

For the first years out of art school, she realized, as Mr. Henninger had said that she barely scratched the surface, which planted a seed of discontentment, and so she was open to finding someone to study with! 

In the summer 1977 she got married, and in August she went out to the Pepper Tree Show, and saw a magnificent 40x30 painting by Dan McCaw! And she was hooked! Wanting to purchase it, but felt being newly married, she really did not have the option to do such a thing!

Then in the early 80s she discovered that Dan McCaw was teaching in Don Putman's old studio in Hermosa Beach, so she signed up to study with Dan for several years. Around '87 she described that 40x30 painting, to which Dan responded: "O, that thing, it's coming back from a gallery this week." Well, needless to say she purchased it! That was the first of about 7 of McCaw's creations!

At one of Dan't workshops, Betty met Denise Burns, founder of PAPA ~ Plein Air Painters of America. When Denise discovered that Betty had worked in the commercial art field, Denise asked Billups to do ONE national ad, to promote a group she was starting called PLEIN AIR PAINTERS OF AMERICA.