Betty Merken is a painter and printmaker who has had over 100 solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Japan, China, and Italy. Contrasts of color, form, and perception play a significant role in Merken's work, as do elemental oppositions such as warm and cool and light and dark. Alert to color during extensive travels in the Mediterranean, Merken is deeply engrossed in the power of color to evoke emotion, to echo a sense of place, and to encourage contemplation.

She is a recipient of several awards and fellowships, including from the Pinea-Linea de Costa Artist International in Cadiz, Spain, the BAU Institute in Ontranto, Italy and New York, and the Civita Institute, Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy and Seattle. Merken's work can be found in collections of the UCLA Hammer Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon, the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA, and the Civita Institute,Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy.