Beth Andrews is a native North Carolinian with roots in the Piedmont and northwestern mountains which reach back to the 1700s. As a child, serious health problems resulted in long stays in the hospital, and it was during that period, at age 10, that she was given an oil painting set and made the decision to become a painter.
She pursued her art studies at UNC-Greensboro where she obtained a Fine Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking (with a secondary emphasis in pottery). After graduating, she worked as a resident artist for the NC Arts Council “Third Century Artists” program—a visiting artist program which placed artists in communities across the state to build on local arts resources and develop new initiatives. Over three years and in three counties, Surry, Yadkin and Wilkes, she worked with adults and children creating murals in the schools, building a community pottery program and teaching drawing, painting, and pottery. The conclusion of this program was a group exhibit in Raleigh at the NC Museum of Art.
Andrews has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 40 years. In 2004, she moved to the mountains of NC and refocused her attention on painting and exhibiting.
Artist statement:
I believe that the awareness of beauty is a powerful experience, one that creates a pause from our usual mental chatter. It allows us a glimpse of the Transcendent nature of life. Beauty calls out to us of the mystery of Life. As an artist, I am inspired by beauty in all its forms. This is what inspires me to bring brush to paper…to savor that Transcendent experience and to create moments of beauty on canvas”.