Biography

Elisabeta (Betty) Hermann

From an early age, Elisabeta's mother saw her potential as an artist and encouraged her studies through elementary school. As she reached her teen years and entered high school, she transferred to the "Fine Arts High School" in Arad where she studied and excelled in all aspects of 2D and 3D art. At age 16, Elisabeta sold her first piece of art, a sculpture statue of "Buddha" (20cmX20cm in clay). An older gentleman saw her carrying the statue in a mesh bag and asked her if she wanted to sell it. The work was not completely dry and Betty told the gentleman this, not really wanting to sell the statue. He continued to follow her to where her mother worked, insisting he wanted to buy it right then. One need be mindful that this was 1975 Romania under Communist rule. The economy was very poor and every bit of income counted. Betty questioned her mother as to what to do. Her mother simply looked at her and asked, "Have you lost your mind?" then told her to sell it.

Betty's professors at the Fine Art High School often criticized her in the intermediate stages of her paintings because she had "Too Many Colors on her pallet" and she "would never be able to bring all the colors she had together in a finished painting." In spite of this, Betty always successfully completed her paintings to their amazement. One of her professors introduced himself to his class and told of his of grading standard. "God is a 10, I am a 9, and the rest of you are somewhere below." On one assignment later in the year, this professor gave her a grade of 10 on a Tempura Painting. For many years after that, every time their paths crossed on the streets, (Until she departed to the United States in 2004) the Professor would bow and tip his hat to her in respect of her talent. Betty painted several works as commissions shortly after High School and participated in several exhibitions associated with her High School.

Betty migrated to the U.S. in Nov 2004 to marry her current husband John. For Christmas, 2005, John kept a promise he made Betty when they met and he had seen one of the remaining pieces she had painted after school. He bought her Drawing and Painting supplies and encouraged her to draw and paint as her passion dictated.

Betty is unique among artists because of her ability to move from one media to another and more importantly one style to another with ease, seemingly without effort. The causal observer might think she is searching for her VOICE in art, but on closer inspection, one may easily see Betty's voice in every stroke of the pencil, charcoal, pastel, or brush and pigment.
Betty has an unspoken belief that God created all the colors available for her use and she uses all of them in her paintings. She has a sensitivity to light and color seldom seen in artists today. She constantly pushes her creative talents to improve her skills and produce original art that will appeal to a broad range of collectors.