Artist Sue Betanzos Takes Her Love of Dogs to the Streets

Animals show up in her public installations; we take a closer look at her canine paintings and mosaics.

Mixed-media artist Sue Betanzos loves animals, including dogs. She loves them so much she gets to put them up all over public walls. Sue is an established artist, with more than 20 years of experience, including a stint as a graphic designer for the U.S. Air Force. Her public installations using mosaic and paint can be seen on walls in Arizona and in San Diego. Drawing inspiration from nature, Sue's artwork strives to promote wildlife conservation with a language that is universal: art.

But what we really love are her pieces featuring dogs. Using rich, deep colors, Sue paints dogs with a vivacity that conveys their upbeat, lively spirit. When we look at her paintings, we can almost hear the dogs panting happily, waiting for us to throw a ball for another round of fetch. We especially love the painting of the dog on her back, ready to receive some belly rubs. The Aussie dog, by the way, is named Risa, and she's featured in several of Sue's pieces.

Even more tactile are Sue's mosaics, which combine materials like stones, tile, and mirror to create piecemeal portraits from unexpected sources.

In this particular piece Risa looks out for her favorite star in the night sky -- that would be Sirius, naturally!

 

Images via Sue Betanzos' website 

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