Beth Bathe

Beth Bathe is an artist residing in Lancaster, PA. After a long career as a graphic designer, Beth now pursues painting full time. Primarily painting in oil en plein air since 2013 she participates in high profile competitions from Maine to Washington State, including Plein Air Easton, Door County WI, Cape Ann MA, LighthouseArt Center FL, Paint Annapolis, MD and others, for a total of 12 competitions in 2022 alone.  Her paintings have won numerous awards and honors and she is a featured artist in the 2018 February/March issue of PleinAir Magazine and is in an article regarding Water Soluble Oils in the December/January 2020/21 issue. 

Beth’s painting style is unique, looking somewhat like a watercolor, or is it an oil painting?  She uses Cobra Water Mixable Oil Colors in thin washes with a limited tonalist palette, using unconventional tools such as squeegees and qtips along with her brushes. Her representational paintings have been described by critics as evoking nostalgia, like that of an old sepia toned photograph, often with just touches of color. She is highly influenced by painter Andrew Wyeth, and her subject matter is often what she refers to as the "vanishing landscape", including finding beauty in buildings, barns and old towns of a time gone by and often beyond their prime. Old barns, a Victorian farmhouse, a back alley, a fire escape, an old mill, or an old split rail fence down a country road are common subjects. Beth paints primary on location to catch her subject at a specific time, especially how the light and shadows play on the surface create drama and emotion.

She is currently represented by McBride Gallery, Annapolis MD; Red Raven Gallery, Lancaster PA; Vermont Artisan Designs in Brattleboro VT;  Trippe Gallery, Easton MD; Folly Cove Fine Art Gallery, Rockport MA; Camden Art Gallery, Camden ME; Fine Line Designs, Sister Bay, WI and Square Pear Gallery, Kennett Square PA

Beth is a Art Ambassador for Royal Talens North America, Signature Member of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters (MAPAPA), Salmagundi Club, Oil Painters of America (OPA), Outdoor Painters Society (OPS), National Acrylic and Oil Painters Society (NOAPS) Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters (SVPAP), Daily Painters of Pennsylvania  In February 2016 she participated in the Plein Air Magazine Invitational trip to Cuba, and has also plein air painted in China.

Beth has a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University ‘81. Beth teaches classes and leads and hosts workshops at her studio, Short Dog Studio, in Ephrata, PA, as well as other locations, including Wayne Art Center, Wayne PA and other national locations. See her event page for more information