A little bit about me…
Hello! I’m Betony Coons.
I grew up on an apple orchard in the sandhill prairies of Kansas, where my siblings and I were unschooled. Our days were shaped by the seasons, spent roaming fields, experimenting, building, making messes, making beauty, and learning by doing. Curiosity was not a subject; it was a way of life.
That upbringing remains at the heart of my creative practice. On the orchard, things rarely went according to plan, so we learned to invent, to adapt, to dream with whatever tools were in reach. We mended what broke, tinkered until things worked, and brought imagined worlds into being. Because of that, I have grown into a joyful dabbler: a mixed-media artist with an insatiable appetite for new techniques and a stubborn belief that there is always a way forward.
Across my work, you will find recurring themes. Innocence, play, vivid color, rootedness, exploration, connection, the natural world, belonging, growth, and the gentle passing of time. I return again and again to universal symbols and icons, the kind that feel woven into our shared human stories.
For me, making art is a process of uncovering. It is gathering and sifting, pulling threads loose and weaving them back together. It is a kind of play and also a kind of pilgrimage, an ongoing journey toward wonder, meaning, and presence.
Curriculum Vitae
Betony Coons
Born 1983, Lyons, KS United States
Currently based in Greeley, CO
Bachelor of Arts, University of Northern CO, USA
Selected Exhibitions
“Bellwether” Atlas Gallery, Greeley, 2017
“Becoming” Atlas Gallery, Greeley, 2015
“Almanac No. 1” Atlas Gallery, Greeley, 2014
“Taste of Art”, Centennial Library, Greeley, CO 2013
“Familiar Saints” Atlas Gallery, Greeley, 2012
“Precarious Connections” Firehouse Art Gallery, Longmont, CO 2012 “Onset” Atlas Gallery, Greeley, CO 2011
“Red,” Everyday Joes, Fort Collins, CO, 2008
“Dreams,” Poudre River Arts Center, Fort Collins, CO, 2008
“Student Show”, Mariani Gallery, UNC, Barbara Leyendecker, Juror, Greeley, CO, 2008 “Sister Show,” Moon House Art Gallery, Waterbury, VT, 2006
Murals
“Middle Sea” - Art Alleyway, Greeley, CO
“Atlas” - Exterior Wall of John Galt Coffee, CO
“Wonders in the Pages” - Riverside Library, Greeley, CO
“Paper Moon” -Denver Children’s Museum, Denver, CO
Tree of Life - Teaching Kitchen Mural
Boys and Girls Club, Greeley, CO
Native Birds - Sandhills Brewing Company, Hutchinson, KS
Sandhill Cranes - Sandhills Brewing Company, Mission Hills, KS
Twelve - Houston Mennonite Church, Houston, TX
We are Dreamers - Utility Box, Greeley, CO
Print Media
Little U Magazine, Spring 2018
Uppercase Magazine, Featured artist, September 2017
Spirituality & Health Magazine, “Overcoming the History and Failings of Papal Infallibility”September 06, 2016
Bandwagon Magazine, Cover Article, 2016
Spiritual Health Magazine, August 2015
Publish 4 Kids
Children’s book “The Stitches Fairy”
Children’s book “Mr. Gibson’s Garden”
Archway Publishing
Children’s book “The Bravest Adventure”
England, Dan, “The Creative Coons,” Greeley Tribune, August, 2012
