It was at the end of May that Sarah Haxby submitted her dissertation entitled “The Paintings of Ione Betty McIntyre, a Bowen Island Cultural Treasure” to the University of Wales, but the local artist considers her work and tribute to Betty McIntyre far from finished.

“The next logical step is to create a book by 2011. I would like to have a coffee table book to be able to share her work and her story with people,” Haxby said.

The name Ione ‘Betty’ McIntyre is well-known to Bowen islanders. She was born in 1917 to the Collins family who built the Collins farmhouse, the Bowen Island United Church and Collins Hall.

In 1935, Betty was the first bride to walk down the aisle at the United Church. She left Bowen in 1947 to go to New York and study art. In 1978, Betty retired from teaching, returned to her childhood home and devoted her time to painting.

Long-time islanders remember Betty from her passionate essays and articles advocating the preservation of the land and from her art shows in the fields at Collin’s Farm that later became known as “Fields of Magic.”

Haxby says, “It was a bold thing to do – to put the artwork out in the field.”

The conditions were less than perfect for the pieces of art that were exposed to the elements. But the community embraced the annual summer event that started in 1991 and ran intermittently until Betty’s death in 1999. Haxby continued the tradition by coordinating the show in 2006 and 2008.

“I call myself her apprentice.” Haxby explains her relationship with Betty McIntyre. “Back in elementary school, in Grade 4, we had to write about local heroes and I did a paper on Betty. I guess this dissertation has been in the making for a long time.”

Haxby started painting lessons with Betty at age 10 or 11 together with Betty’s nieces.

After a while the nieces stopped attending the lessons, but Haxby continued to study with Betty. For the last years of Betty’s life, Haxby often helped out and took care of the house and the cat.

Haxby said, “Just before Betty left for the hospital for the last time, she told me to paint on her easel and not on the one I had been using in the corner.”

When asked about McIntyre’s influences of her own work, Haxby stated, “She certainly influenced my style, but not so much the stylistic aspects. I would say that she influenced my choices about art. For instance, she taught me that it is important to paint every day and keep on painting. She sometimes painted a picture a number of times when it didn’t turn out the way she wanted.”

“She had a great philosophy and encouraged me to try different things and not be afraid of making mistakes. She also encouraged me to value my personal vision and to follow my intuition in terms of subject matter.”

In her will, Betty left significant tracts of land with the condition that they are to be conserved in their natural state.

She also left over 300 pieces of artwork as well as her writing. And thanks to Sarah Haxby’s efforts, Betty McIntyre’s legacy as a painter receives the deserved attention.