Laura Bethmann Artist Statement

Culture and nature nourish and elevate our lives. We grow from what we learn and aspire to, and this is connected to our associations with one another. Each painting in this series points the viewer to a specific person of historic importance whose accomplishments and contributions have been an inspiration to me personally and, often, to humanity at large. Each title implies an invitation to chat with the offer of a light meal or tea-time snack. Imagery includes clues chosen to represent who is being invited. Creating these paintings is as rewarding as researching and learning even more about the people invited. Previously, I made several paintings which evolved into the Invitations series. Three precursor paintings are exhibited here, along with nine Invitations.

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This ongoing series is growing to include historic people from various generations, races, genders and cultures from around the world. My hope is that viewers will be interested to learn more about these individuals, and will ask themselves “Who would I invite?”