About Barbara

Alternating between painting and printmaking, I enjoy inventing new combinations. My media and approach vary according to the subject and effect I want to create. A small, precise mezzotint may be the chosen technique to honor a detail of nature, whereas I would choose a large painting to convey an expansive mood.

My artwork is based on both natural and social themes. Like many artists, I have been a nature lover since childhood. The pleasure I get from the natural world prompted my move to the Central Coast in 1981. I have taken advantage of my chosen location, using the State Parks and National Forests as parts of my studio, working directly in acrylic, oil and pastel, absorbing and learning from my surroundings. In that situation I am pleased with fairly natural color and perspective, using composition as the more expressive tool.

Studio painting and printmaking are quite different. Memory and interpretation alter what the eye has seen. Experiences and conclusions take form, and imagination is released. The canvas takes on its own life. Most of my work reflects a positive and often peaceful outlook, but I sometimes am compelled to address the conflicting and confusing parts of life. I see man as an integral part of the natural world (despite his tendency either to ignore it or try to conquer it) and include that theme in both paintings and prints.

Roads and paths find their way into many of my pictures. Maybe that is because I like to drive, to go, to see new places. Or they may be a metaphor for the journey we are all on. Learning, enjoying, sharing and practicing art is a great way to take that journey.

EXHIBITS AND HONORS

Artist-in-Residence, Studios on the Park, printmaking and painting, Artist-in-Residence, Yosemite Conservancy Art Center, 8/2012 and 6/2013

Art Eco in the Garden, SLO Botanical Garden, juried show, Spring 2013

Wild and PreciousPaso Robles Festival of the Arts, juried show 5&6/2013

Re-Zincing LillianSLOMA, etching exhibit participant and designer1/2013

Phantom Show, Paso Robles, 2012
Off Center, Arts Obispo, San Luis Obispo, Juried print show 2008
California Dreaming, SLO Art Center Invitational 2008
Natural History Museum, Morro Bay State Park, Guest Exhibitor 2003-08
Made in Spain, and Illuminated Nights, Art Is For Everyone!, Baywood Park 2008
Caution-ArtZone, SLO Art Center curated exhibit, 2007
Copa de Oro, Baywood Park, One person exhibit of mixed media 2007
Figure Drawing-The Heart of Art, Art Is for Everyone!, Baywood Park 2007
Women and Friends Worldwide, Los Osos, CA, Group show, mixed media 2007
Brushstrokes, OPAG Juried Exhibit, SLO, 2006
Steynberg Gallery, San Luis Obispo, One person show, paintings and original prints 2004
Art in the Park, Morro Bay, Exhibitor 2004
San Luis Artists’ Gallery, Founder, Exhibitor, and Jury Committee 2000-03
Art in the Garden, Jack House, San Luis Obispo, Exhibitor 2002-07
Renaissance Pleasure Faire, CA, Exhibits and Demonstrations 14 weekends/year, 1992 to the present
Rendez-Vous at the Ranch, Santa Margarita, Invitational Group Show, Coordinator and Exhibitor, 2003-04
Anthems, Johnson Gallery, SLO, Guest Exhibitor 2003
Open Studios Tour, SLO County Arts Council, Participant 2000-03
Art in the Garden, Jack House, San Luis Obispo, Exhibitor, 2002-03
Central Coast Printmakers, SLO Art Center, Juried Exhibitions; 1983-03, Merchant Awards
in 1997, 2001
Santa Barbara Printmakers, Juried Group Show 1998-99
Winter Bird Festival, Morro Bay, Invitational Group Show 1998-00
Goose Pond Gallery, Morgan Hill, Two Person Show 1997
Arte De Granada, Spain, Group Show 1997
SLOPE, San Luis Outdoor Painters Enterprise Member, Exhibits in Washington, D.C., Santa Barbara
and SLO Counties 1993-96
Art in the Oaks, 3-Person SWAP Invitational Exhibit 1991
California Mid-State Fair, Second Place Intaglio, 1991
South County Library, Arroyo Grande, Solo Exhibit of Monoprints, 1990
California Mid-State Fair, Second Place Professional Oil & Acrylic, 1990
Host of Angels, Scarlet Palette Gallery, Cambria, Invitational Group Show, 1990
California Mid-State Fair, First Place Award in Monoprints, 1989
1+1 Conjugal Collaborations, SLO Art Center, Two Couples Invitational Show 1989
Oil & Acrylic Show, SLO Art Association, First Place Award, 1989
SLO Art Association, Featured Printmaker, 1988
California Mid-State Fair, Awards for Intaglio, 1988
Natural History Museum, Morro Bay State Park, Featured Artist, 1985
California Mid-State Fair, Awards for Intaglio, 1985
Pratt International Miniature Print Competition, Juried Traveling Exhibit, 1985

RELATED ART ENDEAVORS

ART Is For Everyone!, Baywood Park, CA Co-owner, teacher, curator 2005-present
San Luis Artists’ Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA Co-founder, and jury committee 2000-03
Granada Arts, Los Osos, CA Co-owner. Self-employed artist/printmaker, selling wholesale and retail, and offering studio classes to adults and children.1980 – present
Central Coast Printmakers, San Luis Obispo, CA Founding Member since 1980 and past president
Open Studios Tour, San Luis Obispo County Arts Council, CA Participant 1999-2002
Invitational Print Exhibition, San Luis Obispo Art Center, CA Curator, Exhibitor, Demonstrator,1999
Children’s Creative Project of Santa Barbara, CA Artist-in Residence: Art Teacher, including supervision of murals at Teach and Baywood Elementary Schools,and participation in I Madonnari Street Painting Festivals 1989-99
Mural in a Day, Lompoc, CA Supporting Artist 1995
Los Osos Small Wilderness Area Preservation, Commission to design and paint 60′ mural, 1993
San Luis Coastal Adult Education, San Luis Obispo, CA
Instructor, Family Focus Art, Winter Quarters 1999, 2000
Instructor, Summer Art Camp for 8-12 year olds, 8/91 -8/95
Instructor, Adult Art Classes, 9/89 -6/90
San Luis Obispo Art Center, San Luis Obispo, CA Member, 1981-present
Board of Directors 1993-95
Instructor, Child and Teenage Art Classes 1989-99
Cal Poly University Art Department, San Luis Obispo, CA Guest Lecturer 1995-96
Rodriquez/Acosta Foundation, Artist-in-Residence, Granada, Spain 1986-87

EDUCATION

Taller Booth, Pinos Genil, Spain, Painting and Advanced printmaking 1997
Taller Montijano, Granada, Spain, Collograph printmaking 1997
Taller Mori, Granada, Spain, Multiple plate color printing, 1996
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA Painting classes with Marion Stevens and Jim Alford,
Ceramics with Gayla Amyx, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1996
California State University, Dominguez Hills, CA Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, 1978,
Single Subject in Art 1990
El Camino College, Los Angeles, CA, Painting 1975
Bachelor of Arts Degree, UC Berkeley, CA Major Sociology, Minor Art 1970
Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, Lower division art and general ed. 1968
Community Art Classes, Alameda, , Redondo Beach, and Long Beach, CA, Painting 1971, 1974, 1979