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"Bubbling up in our own good time-- online."
| Patty Byers |
Biography:
Patricia A. Byers is a long-time resident of Florence, Oregon, after transplanting from Santa
Cruz, California in 1991. She has been painting since her retirement in 1987 and, by her
husband’s count, has over 100 oil paintings of various subjects in her house.
“I don’t really know how many there are. I occasionally give them away, but I never sell,
because for one thing, the ones people want to buy are usually my favorites,” Patty says.
The painting that we are using for this issue’s cover art was one of Patty’s earlier works. It was
a class assignment chosen for her by her art instructor and was painted from a photograph. It
has been proclaimed by Patty’s husband, Morey, to be her very best work.
Seascapes are her favorite subjects, though anything to do with water is a special preference.
“My real choice of seascapes came from Sharon Rickert, my teacher. It was she who started
my fascination with seascapes, from the classes I took and her beautiful paintings. She was a
wonderful person and artist.”
Jen Chambers, Patty’s granddaughter, remembers a funny story surrounding her grandmother’
s talent. “When I was 11 or so, Patty painted a portrait of me from a school picture. I remember
so clearly when she unveiled the detailed and very good portrait. I was so embarrassed of my
seventh-grade self that I honestly told her I didn't like it. I know now that it probably killed her,
after all her work, but she is such a gracious person, she simply said she understood, smiled
and said no more about it. I tried to explain, years later, that it was just that I was in such a bad
space about who I was at the time, and she smiled and said she understood. She's a wise
woman. The portrait now hangs in her upstairs gallery in their house at the coast.”
Patty used to be very involved in the music program at her church but now enjoys retirement
and photography. “We were fortunate enough to travel quite a bit,” she explains. She and her
husband have traveled to countries all over the world, from Russia to South America to Cuba
and many more, as well as much of the United States. They have given up “snow-birding” in
their RV and now are “content stay-at-homes” in Florence.
“Actually, we like to say that we were rain-birds, because of all the rain!” she laughs. She and
her husband enjoy the coast. Their two children, four grandchildren and great-grandchildren
are spread around the Willamette Valley and San Diego, California. (Winter 2009)
Website address: not available
Index of Groundwaters contributions:
Volume 3 Issue 3 - “Morning Sunrise” (poetry)
Volume 5 Issue 2 - cover art; “Looking Back” (family history/non-fiction)
Volume 6 Issue 1 - "The Incredible Journey" (poetry)
Volume 6 Issue 2 - "The Song of the Nail" (poetry); "Remembrances of the Great
Depression" (profile/interview); "Spiced Nuts" (recipe)
Volume 6 Issue 3 - "Pebbles" (poetry)
Volume 8 Issue 2 - "Nebraska Blizzard - 1917" (family history/non-fiction)
Volume 8 Issue 3 - "Grandma's Crazy Quilt" - (fiction)
Patricia A. Byers is a long-time resident of Florence, Oregon, after transplanting from Santa
Cruz, California in 1991. She has been painting since her retirement in 1987 and, by her
husband’s count, has over 100 oil paintings of various subjects in her house.
“I don’t really know how many there are. I occasionally give them away, but I never sell,
because for one thing, the ones people want to buy are usually my favorites,” Patty says.
The painting that we are using for this issue’s cover art was one of Patty’s earlier works. It was
a class assignment chosen for her by her art instructor and was painted from a photograph. It
has been proclaimed by Patty’s husband, Morey, to be her very best work.
Seascapes are her favorite subjects, though anything to do with water is a special preference.
“My real choice of seascapes came from Sharon Rickert, my teacher. It was she who started
my fascination with seascapes, from the classes I took and her beautiful paintings. She was a
wonderful person and artist.”
Jen Chambers, Patty’s granddaughter, remembers a funny story surrounding her grandmother’
s talent. “When I was 11 or so, Patty painted a portrait of me from a school picture. I remember
so clearly when she unveiled the detailed and very good portrait. I was so embarrassed of my
seventh-grade self that I honestly told her I didn't like it. I know now that it probably killed her,
after all her work, but she is such a gracious person, she simply said she understood, smiled
and said no more about it. I tried to explain, years later, that it was just that I was in such a bad
space about who I was at the time, and she smiled and said she understood. She's a wise
woman. The portrait now hangs in her upstairs gallery in their house at the coast.”
Patty used to be very involved in the music program at her church but now enjoys retirement
and photography. “We were fortunate enough to travel quite a bit,” she explains. She and her
husband have traveled to countries all over the world, from Russia to South America to Cuba
and many more, as well as much of the United States. They have given up “snow-birding” in
their RV and now are “content stay-at-homes” in Florence.
“Actually, we like to say that we were rain-birds, because of all the rain!” she laughs. She and
her husband enjoy the coast. Their two children, four grandchildren and great-grandchildren
are spread around the Willamette Valley and San Diego, California. (Winter 2009)
Website address: not available
Index of Groundwaters contributions:
Volume 3 Issue 3 - “Morning Sunrise” (poetry)
Volume 5 Issue 2 - cover art; “Looking Back” (family history/non-fiction)
Volume 6 Issue 1 - "The Incredible Journey" (poetry)
Volume 6 Issue 2 - "The Song of the Nail" (poetry); "Remembrances of the Great
Depression" (profile/interview); "Spiced Nuts" (recipe)
Volume 6 Issue 3 - "Pebbles" (poetry)
Volume 8 Issue 2 - "Nebraska Blizzard - 1917" (family history/non-fiction)
Volume 8 Issue 3 - "Grandma's Crazy Quilt" - (fiction)
Who Are They?
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