amarillo chamber of commerce - HPN Books

BECHTOLFINE ARTSDavid and Mary Bechtol haveshared a life together, each withindividual talents, but with one creativeheart. Mary has loved art sinceshe was a child and has paintedsince she was in third grade. Sheuses art to outwardly express whatshe feels on the inside about theworld around her. Although she is aregistered nurse, and has worked inother fields, art has been a constantlove throughout her life. Mary hasstudied art for many years, at WestTexas A&M University, with watercoloristStephan Kramer, CharlesReid, Charles Sovek, and Scott Burdick. Hermost recent mentor, Rick Howell, has taughther to have the courage to express herself inher unique way.Mary first noticed inflections in shades,hues, and tones while traveling in the backseat of her family’s car as they moved fromone place to another. Mary describes whatshe saw as “the landscape in motion.” Usinga distinctive ability to captureinflection and harnesslight, Mary brilliantly illuminateseach canvas. Shecreates paintings with alimited palette of four orfive colors. Her ability toinfuse color with the lightshe captures with herbrush enables her to createa “rich rainbow of color ineach piece.”Mary includes at least one bird in herlandscape paintings. She shares a love ofwildlife and bird watching with her husbandDavid T. Bechtol, D.V.M. He has coupled hiscareer in veterinary medicine with photographyof landscapes, birds, and other wildlife.His unforgettable trip to South Africa as aconsultant to vaccinate Roan Antelope foranthrax from a helicopter created a passionfor conservation and wildlife/nature photography.David’s ability to capture intimatemoments among his wildlife subjects bringsforth images with exquisite insight. His gift ofportraying the essence of each creature in itshabitat provides glimpses into often unseenworlds where wildlife lives free from humaninterference. His bird photography skillfullyseizes minute detail and movement thatbrings unparalleled clarity to the beholder.Like Mary, David has acquired a love oflight and shadow that has been applied to hisphotography. Both have the gift of capturingmagical elements of their subjects andbringing the joy of light to their work. Manyyears of work and study have broughtthe Bechtols to a place of fruition in theirjourney with art. David and Mary both haveparticipated in the Coastal Bend PhotographyContest in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Davidwas invited to compete with nineteen otherprofessional photographers in the Imagesfor Conservation Fund. Today, each has astudio at the Galleries at Sunset Center.Mary’s paintings are displayed at Studio 88and David’s photography is displayed atat Studio 83H.AMARILLO - Faces, Places & Open Spaces264