Rose and Betty Refour: A Tale of Two Sisters by Molly O’Connor
at their grandparents’ home, the same home where they now reside. Left to their own devices, they would stretch out across the floor, filling the hours and numerous notebooks with sketches. It was then and there that they both discovered a mutual love for drawing. Betty’s early work included repetition of geometric shapes. Later, she developed a fascination with fashion and begin to use images from magazines as a guide for clothing design. Rose tended to sketch organic creatures and faces. Today her signature works are portraits of a woman’s face with a cigarette pursed between her lips. Betty believes that Rose’s affinity for this image is rooted in memories of their grandfather who could often be found enjoying a cigarette. Upon graduation from high school, Betty ventured off to Arlington, Texas to attend Bauder Fashion College. The two year program provided Betty with in-depth training in clothing construction and design, but when she graduated, it was difficult to find opportunities for work. “I started doing illustrating for other designers to help them get their products on the market. It was mostly free-lance and marketing. So, I really didn’t take it too seriously.” In addition, Betty worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines. An injury on the job prevented her from working for an entire year. Much to her dismay, her doctor refused to allow her to return to work.
Rose Refour, Nobody Died and Made Me Queen, I Was Born a Queen
It’s a crisp late winter night in Oklahoma City, and two sisters, Rose and Betty Refour, sit together in the living room of their historic home. A flame in the wall furnace dances as Betty shares stories about their family, the home and the artistic path that she and her sister Rose have followed. The walls and mantle, which are adorned with several of the sisters’ paintings, illustrate their evolution as artists and their vibrant imaginations. While Betty talks, Rose sits
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quietly and plays a video game, aware of the conversation, but not involved in it. Diagnosed with autism as a child, Rose’s communication has predominantly been non-verbal. At the time of Rose’s diagnosis, the lack of knowledge and understanding about autism led to social stigma, and therefore, she and Betty were prevented from playing or socializing with other children. Instead, they spent days on end
“I broke down. I wasn’t sure what I would do. She saw some of my pictures of my drawings and said ‘THIS is what you will do! Why don’t you take up painting?’ I wasn’t sure I could make art a career, but I left there and bought canvas the next day.” Betty signed up for a painting class and gradually developed her own style of abstract painting, which sometimes incorporates the floating geometric shapes that were key in her early foundation of drawing. She credits Paul Klee, Mark Rothko and Wassiliy Kandinsky as artistic influences. Several of Betty’s paintings, such as “Station Wagon” (continued to page 22)