Q&A

What made you decide to not show you're face?

The reason to this is because I think it's unnecessary and irrelevant. I want to be known for what I do from my heART, not for what I look like. I credit my parents for raising me in a home in which values on looks were never placed and inner beauty was always looked highly upon. My dad would always let me know that I got a good heart and that I'm smart but not once in my life has he ever complemented me for my looks. My parents are amazing. They kept me grounded. By me not showing my face It's not because I'm insecure. Attention for my looks honestly means nothinggg from anyone unless it's from my man (I don't have a man but if I had a man..I only want attention from him.)

Are you Buddhist? What is your religion?

I was raised Catholic but I don’t practice it. I feel like people pay too much attention to how the world was created instead of loving and looking after the world. I have hopes and dreams and I do pray for things that I hope to find. I Just genuinely put out what I want into the universe and hopefully it will find me when the time is right. The point of all religions to me is be a good person and for a clear direction in life. That seems to be the point of most things. Sometimes people get lost in their religions, they miss the point. So yeah, I’m willing to learn, but I don’t follow anything specifically I just want to bring as much love to the world and die in peace.

Do you ever get nervous about sharing parts of yourself through your work ?

YES. Especially at the beginning when I created this account I really cared a lot of what people would think. I hid Betusha account from my friends, i even blocked them so they couldn't find me. It was my little secret. At the time i didn't have much confidence I cared too much. If 99% of the feedback was good I would focus on the 1% bad and that would ruin my day. However I have come a long way since then. Now I use it to help me express myself, it’s not about what others think but about what I feel.

How do you keep going? How do you stay motivated?

I want my family to be proud of me, I want a sweet husband, I want to have some children, I want to travel and explore the world, I want to eat more nice food, I want to be a better person, I want to keep expressing myself and coming up with new ideas, I want a nice house by the beach, I want to keep learning more new things, I want to help people, I want a stress free life, etcccccc...There are soo many amazing things around the world that I have yet to experience and my bucket list of course. This stuff motivates me to live. I know sometimes I’m unhappy here in the place that I am, but I know that there are so many years ahead of me (hopefully) for new things in other places. That really excites me.

Has it been difficult creating sometimes with you're parents not approving of the erotic paintings ?

For sure, yes. Really difficult, my parents are Albanian and both catholic and traditional. I feel like sometimes they don’t really understand me - I’m often feeling like the black sheep of the family. This is something that plays on my mind more often than not. I find myself holding back in the more erotic area of my artwork as my parents are very traditional in their ways and can sometimes not be very open-minded. When I first started painting everything was hidden from them, I felt they would be shocked and ashamed that I was creating erotic paintings; it was almost as if I was anxious about the perceived ideas they would have about me and how they thought I would look like to others - From their perspective anyway.

Out of these whats you're favourite medium to work on ? Clothes ? canvas or paper?

Paper. Simply because when I have an idea it’s the easiest way for me to express my burst of passion as quick as I can from my mind into reality.

The depiction of women in your art is amazing. You paint them with stretch marks, belly rolls, and imperfections - which makes them perfect. Why is it important to you to paint realistic images of women?

Thank you! And because women are amazing in every way possible. I am surrounded by strong, independent, sweet ,kind, powerful women. I’m a very much a girls girl - I love spending time with my girls. I like to show appreciation to my friends. I have a very different bunch of friends, different races and cultures but we connect so much. They are living angels. Each of the woman close to me all have there own unique presence in my life. My friends inspire and lift me up. My friends aren’t necessarily my muses when drawing women- i have in my head an idea of a woman with powerful sexual and feminine energy and what you usually see is an embodiment of that imagination.

Who are you're favourite painters? And what pieces of work have inspired you?

Frida Kahlo and Jean Michel Basquiat. I'm their love child (in my dreams). My favourite all time painting is 'The Kiss- Gustav Klimt' That painting gives me butterflies

what inspires you the most?

As cliché as this sounds.. Just everyday life.. kindness, innocence, playfulness, childhood, adulthood, femininity, confidence, growth, self love, change, traveling and LOVE. I don't watch much TV/ Movies and I don't look up other artists really. I'm always in my own world. Things simply as..going gym and seeing the amount of women i notice who go to the changing rooms to get changed as there not confident in their skin to get changed in front of other girls can trigger a lot of ideas for me. I take inspiration from everything then I go to my room and I create. When I paint I meditate. My mind is Zen. I normally overthink everything but when I paint I don't think at all. I think that's why I love art so much. However I actually never want to be a full time artist. Art life can be lonely and sad at times. I have a busy life and I like it that way. I love my full time job (I work for an electrical company) as I work with great people and I know I'm helping people. I like to travel explore new things all the time and art is my escape.

How much older was the guy? You mentioned on a previous post.

12 years older. (We have the same birthday)

Where have you traveled to ?Which country is your favourite?

Iv been to ..Paris, Rome, Montenegro, Berlin, Spain, Thailand, Bali, Australia, Milan, Portugal and iv been to New York and Detroit 4/5 times, but my favourite place has to be back home- Albania . I try go back nearly every year.

Whats a quote or mindset that motivates you?

'I'm here for a good time, not a long time'. I overthink everything and that quote makes me shake it off and try not take life too serious. I also love “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”-Dalai Lama and “The highest form of wisdom is kindness.”-The Talmud.

Is 'Betusha' You're real name? If not where does it come from?

My real name is *something*-Beta but my granddad (who is the most amazing person ever) gave me the nick-name Betusha since I was a baby. My family call me 'Beta' but my dad and granddad always call me Betusha.

Would you stay with someone who cheated on you? Would you forgive them?

I would forgive them and forget them for life. I think cheating is the highest form of disrespect. Honesty is my number one must. I would happily end the relationship if I was cheated on.

How old are you? 24