Artist’s Work Keeps Her Connected To The World Of Actors And Movies

When she was in sixth grade, Betsy Mott penciled up a portrait of Richard Burton and mailed it off to him., Much to her wide-eyed-kid surprise, she got a thank-you note in return.

Since then, Mel Gibson, Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola have copies of her work. Mott, who has since switched to oils, even handed Timothy Dalton a portrait of himself in person on the set of the James Bond flick, “License to Kill.”

“I’ve always loved movies,” says Mott, now 37. And TV, too. The first thing she ever remembers drawing is the starship from Star Trek.

She works at the Corner Door bookstore and cafe in Millwood, where the walls are adorned with movie-star mugs from her studio. Although Mott does sell original works and prints there, she also frequents art shows as well as film and sci-fi conventions around the country.

“That’s the reason I agreed to do this,” Mott says through a grin from behind the restaurant’s marble ice cream counter. “I can take weekends off.”

Mott has two master’s degrees, but neither is in art. One is in theater education and another is in literature. When she left school in 1984, she figured the theater was where she belonged. She acted in and did other work on Spokane Civic Theater productions. She wrote plays. But she found it tough to do all that and work nights at Waldenbooks. She drifted from theater and back to her childhood love, art.

She has sold hundreds of reproductions of her work since. Originals, which sell for $300 to $400, move more slowly.

When the downtown Waldenbooks store closed, she began working for her sister at the Corner Door last summer. It’s no coincidence that the cafe soon thereafter also became a bookstore and pop art vendor.

When they aren’t at a show or convention, Mott’s portraits cover the place - everything from Michael Keaton’s big-screen “Batman” to John Lennon to Mr. Spock. The familiar faces stare down upon customers as they wolf down soup and sandwiches.

So many stars own her paintings because Mott needs to get their permission before selling reproductions. A little ego-boost token goes a long way toward getting approval.

And so far, her luck has been good.

“It would be different if I was mass-marketing them,” she says.

Before she sits down in front of the canvas, she doesn’t just rip a snap out of People and try to copy it. She watches the actor in several roles to get an idea how the person moves and looks at different angles.

“You want to get the essence of the character, what they really look like … you try and get a point across, to look through their eyes,” Mott says with her quiet earnest.

And as long as people keep buying portraits, she’ll keep working at the Corner Door, always remembering not to forget that two-hour painting break. If the market runs dry, she’ll just have to go back to something practical - say, being a playwright.

“I have the degrees, and if I have to I’ll go back to them,” Mott says with a laugh. “But I’ll keep painting for as long as I can.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo