Ramona Kaye Beckwith began her artistic endeavors later in life—not having grown up in an artistic family or community. Currently, the award-winning painter features her captivating, contemporary pieces at the Gold Country Artists’ Gallery and teaches workshops on the “Basics of Collage/Mixed Media” and “Painting with Ink.” Beckwith also donates several of her pieces to local causes (including the KVIE Art Auction) and participates in art and wine events annually.

HLB: Why do you create art? 

RKB: Before acrylics, I was most successful in pastel painting. What gave me joy were the few times I placed color in a painting and saw a breathtaking transformation right before my eyes; that’s when I knew that sometimes a painting can sing! As soon as I got into pouring liquid acrylic paint, I experienced the joy of colors blending and creating something magical. Since I started working in collage and mixed media, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by having a painting paint itself and become something totally unexpected. 

HLB: What inspires you? 

RKB: Since I started painting, I’ve become more sensitive to everything around me and see possibilities in ordinary things. I like to pick out shapes and patterns in whatever I’m observing. Color and movement are important to me; when light hits colors, it can become magical and hypnotic. I tend to use the same colors in my paintings because they give me a feeling of peace, excitement and joy. 

HLB: Are your paintings planned? 

RKB: I don’t start out with a plan very often, because the painting always takes off on its own. I have learned to trust my inner artist who makes interesting things happen. That’s why I don’t take credit for my paintings—most of the time I don’t know how I painted them.

HLB: Why liquid acrylics? 

RKB: I felt a need to see paint move. I’d been working in pastel and had to be deliberate in placing each stroke. The running paint was exciting, even though I discarded most of the paintings I attempted. Slowly, I found out what yielded the best results and went from there. It was all experimentation and manipulation of the paint and fluid mediums I added.

HLB: Have you had any significant moments? 

RKB: I’ve had many magical moments in creating my art. The most dramatic happened with my first watercolor experiment, which started with painting on plastic wrap, transferring the paint to watercolor paper and then lifting the plastic wrap to spray the painting with water, which created movement and became a small painting called The Wave. That painting took an Award of Excellence at the Mother Lode National Exhibition and convinced me that I could call myself an artist.

HLB: Do you have any words of wisdom? 

RKB: What I’ve learned over the last 10 years is to trust your instincts/intuition, put aside fear of failure and be open to trying new things. Don’t hoard your paint and paper, but be willing to experiment with new ideas and techniques. If something doesn’t work, don’t despair—just move on to the next project and know that something good will happen if you leave open the possibility of magic.

ramonakayebeckwithart.com