Betsy Jaeger

Artist Statement / Bio

Originally from Batavia, Illinois, I received a BFA from Notre Dame University in 1976 and an MFA from West Virginia University in 1978, both in painting. I met my husband, artist Stephen Lawson, in WV and we decided to stay in Appalachia, where there’s no shortage of environmental issues. I’m an active member of the WV Chapter of the Sierra Club and devote much of my time to opposing fossil fuel extraction and combustion.

My oil paintings on wood panels are mainly based on photographs I take to document environmental issues where I live in West Virginia. I had a front row seat to a strip mine for 13 years. Few people understand where the electricity they use comes from, so I contrast the comfort of home with the reality of coal extraction, which is ugly and toxic. Comfortable chairs near windows float in front of logged out and ravaged hillsides. Ghost birds and wildlife look out on their lost habitat. My hope is to document what we have lost and the real price paid for our energy demands.

As well as coal extraction are images of my younger brother, who had autism and Down Syndrome. His perception of nature and reality was maybe a lot more direct so several paintings reflect how perhaps humans related to nature before our technology became a barrier.