Page 38 - Lachicotte 2020

Betsy Boyle Harper

I with portraiture. Deloris Boyle, a portrait artist of some renown, worked in
When it comes to South Carolina artists, the Boyle name is synonymous
nspiration
the mid-state for many years before retiring to Pawleys Island. Her daughter,
Betsy Boyle Harper, has carried on the Boyle legacy painting hundreds of
elegant and evocative portraits over the last 30 years.

P under her mother’s tutelage in
The younger Boyle blossomed
awleys
the early 1990s. Boyle says the
inspiration for portrait work
comes in finding the unique
beauty and personality in each
person she paints.

by Andrew Smith
“I strive to not only capture a
likeness but to create a beautiful
work of art,” Boyle reflects.

When she’s not working on
For hundreds of years, Pawleys Island and its surroundings a commissioned portrait in
have inspired writers, painters, woodworkers, and other pastels or oils, Boyle paints local
scenery and landscapes in oils
artists and artisans. This inspiration is no less so today. and acrylics, which she began
Something about the Waccamaw Neck makes creative types doing around 15 years ago.
take out their brushes, knives, cameras and other tools to “The Hammock Coast never ceases to inspire my landscape work, from the
ever-changing marshes and beaches to the birds and creatures that dwell
record their own interpretations of the visual beauty of the there,” she says.
area that pervades their senses. Five artists share here the While most of her work resides in personal collections, some portraits are
ways the Hammock Coast surfaces in their art. hanging in public spaces like court houses and hospitals. All of her styles are
on display at Island Art Gallery in Pawleys Island and can be found on her
website, theboylegallery.com, as well as Instagram and Facebook.

Betsy Boyle Harper Buffy Patterson Buddy Locklear Betsy Havens Jim Arnold

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