The 90s- The Waters of Life
While water had always played a major role in her work, Bettye started to focus on it more and more as a subject. Bettye would utilize long winding strokes to depict the movement of water, finding inspiration in japanese woodblock prints. She also started using pastels in her work; layering them over her paintings in order to further abstract her images. The new medium led Bettye to change her working style. In the past she had primarily painted from observation outdoors, but using pastels meant her paintings took longer to complete, so instead Bettye would start by sketching outside and completing the painting over a longer period of time in her studio.
