"Stop the car!”
When scouting scenic back roads with her husband Jerry, artist Becky Rogers is always on alert. “I never know when I’ll come across the perfect bend in the road or the perfect sunny meadow,” she says, “so I keep my camera tucked in my purse, and I’m ready to jump out at a moment’s notice and take photos.” 
Once back in her studio, Rogers makes use of these images as inspiration for her landscapes in which the Texas Hill Country puts its best boot forward. Pastures brimming with bluebonnets, pink primroses in the morning mist, and sunlit cypress trees along the banks of the Guadalupe River—her art captures these and many other exceptional aspects of the state’s natural beauty.
Interested in art from an early age, Rogers grew up in Kansas where she took her first professional art lessons while still in elementary school. After high school, she attended Colby College and initially majored in art. Later, after an aptitude test steered her toward a career in either banking or the arts, she transferred to Lubbock Christian College and switched her major to business. Recalling her reasoning at the time, she says: “I was worried about the practical aspects of making a living as a fine artist, so I took the safe route.” 
During the majority of those “practical” years in the banking industry, Rogers called the region near Temple and Salado home. It was there that she first became aware of the natural beauty and charm of the Central Texas landscape. “After having grown up on the plains of Kansas with its monotonous wheat fields and cornfields, I was in awe of the huge Texas oak trees, the beautiful wildflowers, and the scenic variety in the region,” she comments.    
Occasionally, Rogers painted the local landscape, but did not yet revisit the prospect of fine art as a career. “It was still just a hobby at that point in my life.” 
All that changed in 1999, when she and Jerry moved to the Hill Country near Boerne and Rogers made the decision to retire from banking as well as other community involvements. “I had come to the realization that my love for art was a dream that I had put on hold, and that the right time to pursue it had finally come.”
With that decision, Rogers focused all her energies on her new career. “I knew that if I wanted to succeed, it would take a total commitment on my part. In a sense, it was a journey into the unknown, but it was an exciting unknown.”
Making up for lost time, Rogers took a succession of oil painting workshops from many well-known artists and appreciatively notes that she learned beneficial techniques from each of them. However, she credits Boerne artist Jay Hester with having the biggest influence on her work. “His critiques helped me see where changes would be helpful, yet he always encouraged me to make those changes based on my own style.” Though she paints a variety of subjects—including floral arrangements and still life—her main focus is the Texas landscape.
Rogers confesses that as her skills progressed, painting actually became more difficult for a time. “The more I improved and the more I trained, the harder I became on myself. I guess you could say I became a more discerning critic.”
Her search for perfection has paid off, however, as others have taken note of her emerging talent and have applauded with enthusiasm. In 2007, Rogers’ work won the Peoples Choice Award for the best overall collection on display at the Texas Wild Bunch Gala and Sale. Then, in the autumn of 2009, she also won Best in Show at the Hill Country Invitational Art Sale. That prize was awarded for “Misty Memories,” which captures the ethereal beauty of a springtime morning mist over an awakening blanket of wildflowers. Creating believable-looking “mist” was such a challenge that Rogers says it took days to bring the look to perfection. “I reworked the painting over and over until it finally had the mood I had wanted to achieve,” she recalls resolutely.
That persistent pursuit of perfection through frequent self-critique is really part of every painting Rogers creates. Once a work is almost complete, she puts it away for a while, out of sight. Then, when some time has passed, she pulls it out again and takes a fresh look. “At this point, I ask myself questions,” she explains. “Can I give the painting more emotion? Have I achieved the mood I was after?” After making changes, the canvas is temporarily tucked away once again—a process she may repeat several times over.
“I’m always striving to create a better painting for a certain perfection that eludes me,” she says with a sigh. “But in the end, when I finally pull it out and feel relaxed as I look at my work, then I am happy. That’s when I call it done!”