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"Florida Dream Painter"
To contact Betsi,
please click the button below |
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Hurricane Georges came to Mississippi less than a year after Botanica opened.
Betsi “boarded up” the windows with plywood to prevent damage.
After the storm passed,
there were many pieces of plywood that she wanted to use in some way.
She tried painting on them and called her new creation
“Porch Art.”
Everyone loved her new work and she has been painting outdoor art since 1998.
The plywood had to be kept in
a covered area since it would warp and split in the weather.
One day in 2000, a loyal customer brought Betsi some weatherproof
HardieBacker™ board asking her to paint on the boards for his fence. This was the beginning of
“Yard Art!”
Betsi has painted over 4,000 “boards” through 2007.
Each one is an original, painted in acrylic and sprayed with a clear coat for durability. |
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Betsi Burgess
"Florida Dream Painter"
Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, Betsi found her inspiration in southern coastal areas from visiting them as a youth.
In the summer of 1967, she discovered the wonderful gulf side village of Pass Christian, Mississippi. After an adult lifetime pursuing career and family interests, she retired with husband John in 1992 to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
They soon opened Botanica, a home & garden shop in "The Pass" which offered a variety of items including Betsi's painted furniture and yard art.
In 2005, hurricane Katrina took their shop and devastated their home. They relocated to Flowery Branch, Georgia, where she continues to paint and feature her work. And now they enjoy a second home in St. Petersburg, the place of her childhood and early inspiration.
The theme of Betsi’s art has always been "beachy,” tropical and botanical. She aspires to capture the feeling of Florida in the 1940's and 1950's. Betsi is excited to be showing her paintings in St. Petersburg's Saturday Morning Market From October Through May, where John and Cousin Sandra join in the fun.
Betsi is a founding member of the Gulfport Galleria of Fine Art, which links her to old friends along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Her art reflects her dreams of times gone by in old Florida; she hopes to inspire you to know the joy she experiences with each of her paintings!
Betsi and her pals sang "The Orange Blossom Song" when they were growing up in St. Petersburg. Sandy Gustafson Holloway thought it would be a great song to accompany Betsi's website and DVD's; she found the lyrics and music and asked Kristen and Kevin Holloway (Sandy's children) to record the Orange Blossom Song for Betsi.
Arrangement for this song is by Kristen and Kevin Holloway. The lyrics are by Stephen and Mary Lynn Ulrey. We hope that you enjoy it too.
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Cousin Sandra, Joan, John & Betsi Burgess
The Saturday Morning Market |
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