BETH PITE

Beth Pite, colorscapes

My art is about color, energy and capturing the essence of something rather than an exact likeness. Using loose strokes of vibrant color, I show how it felt to be there.  My paintings suggest a human story in intriguing settings, whether bustling cities or soothing seascapes.  Rather than direct representation, or copying what my camera records, I exaggerate color in order to share what made something memorable.

Inspired by New England scenery, or my travels in Europe and Latin America, I take hundreds of photographs to soak up a sense of the place.  This helps me remember what was exciting about it when I’m back in my studio, painting with vivid, expressionistic color.

Pastel painting is done directly on the surface with velvety sticks of pure pigment, rather than with a paint brush after mixing colors.  This direct application helps convey the intensity of my experiences.  I use contrasting colors next to each other, and multiple layers of different colors in dark and light areas, to create vibrancy.  I avoid black, white and brown, which can dull the painting.  

Award-winning artist Beth Pite has been exhibiting professionally since 1997.  Trained at UConn's School of Fine Arts, she is a member of the Connecticut Pastel Society and exhibits her pastel paintings frequently throughout the region.  In 2011, her seascape won second place in a statewide competition for an exhibit at Connecticut’s Legislative Office Building.  Beth’s work has been accepted into juried shows at West Hartford Art League, Mystic Art Museum, the Artists Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, RI, Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, CT, and the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, CT. 

Beth’s solo exhibits include Simsbury 1820 House in Simsbury, Yale New Haven/L&M Hospital and the Garde Art Center in New London, Pamela Hirth Studio in Woodbridge, Hartford’s Charter Oak Cultural Center, Town & County Club and Morneault’s Stackpole Moore Tryon, Black Orchid in Stonington, Studio M in Mystic, Arts Unique in Avon, The Space Gallery in Chester, CT, and the University of Connecticut’s Homer Babbidge Library in Storrs.  Her paintings are in private collections in Vermont, California, Florida, Colorado and Italy. Beth is currently represented by Coastal Arts Studio at the Velvet Mill in Stonington, CT.