Alabama Folk Art Outsider Artist Betty Sue Matthews Portrait Painting. Signed
The beloved Alabama artist passed in 2018 but left behind a large body of work to be enjoyed and collected. Here she works in what looks to be mixed medias of acrylics gouaches and watercolors on wove paper. Here the artist created a portrait of a lovely lady. She sits for the artist against a blue background with her arms crossed, gazing just off the the right of the viewer with a poignant look about her. The brushwork is whimsical and the artist uses a sharp object to incise textural lines for her hair and eye brows. The artist typically knew her sitters so perhaps this is a friend or relative. It is signed by the artist on her lower left arm. Attached to foamcore at each corner and in the middle on each side. Looks quite easy to remove if need be. Age appropriate wear to edges and corners. Measurements: 28″ x 22″. Matthews was born in the small town of Brundidge, southwest of Troy, Alabama, in 1944, and lived there most of her life. She later moved to Tuscaloosa, where she died in 2018. She created paintings of people she knew and animals she saw on flattened cardboard boxes, discarded furniture, and tin siding. The Alabama-native artist’s work has been exhibited in the Smithsonian and the Rosa Parks Museum as well as many other galleries.