Oil painter Britten’s work on display in Beaver Creek

The artist: Known simply by her first name, Britten grew up in San Francisco where she learned to appreciate art at a young age. She’s lived in the Vail Valley for 14 years and works at C. Anthony Gallery where some of her work is nearly always hanging. Britten has painted many murals in the valley, including one she just finished at the Yoga studio at Dogma Athletica in Edwards. She’s also painted “everything from bathtubs to ski clothes,” she said.

Britten calls painting her “gift” ” both to give and to receive ” and strives to translate her emotions into a visual language.

The evolution: “I have painted as long as I can remember. I have always felt more comfortable expressing myself with a paint brush in hand. My mother eventually gave up and let me paint on the wall of my room, even my clothes. Now people pay me to do that!

“My art was very representational/realistic/more traditional until about two years ago when I decided to simplify and try to find my true expression. It has been a process … unfolding on my canvas. At this point, I am truly at my most ‘real,’ even though my paintings represent what some would call an ‘alternative reality.’”

The medium: Mixed. A base of acrylic paint followed by oil paint and resin, with gold, silver and copper leaf layered on canvas on a three-inch box frame.

The process: “My inspiration comes from being present in the moment. Whatever that moment is. I try to stay with it wherever it takes me. My medium has evolved with me. I like the layers (and) depth of different mediums, so I am constantly trying new things. My style is ‘evolution’ ” maybe that sounds bold, but I mean it in a sense that it is fluid, up for interpretation and changing.”

The fun side: “My favorite piece of art is a rotating exhibit on my refrigerator (by) my children, Sky, 14 and Marlee, 10.”

Caramie Schnell
cschnell@vaildaily.com
Beaver Creek CO, Colorado
January 29, 2009

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.vaildaily.com/news/oil-painter-britten-roetzels-work-on-display-in-beaver-creek/