Teeny Tiny Trifecta

Super excited to have three works in the Teeny Tiny Trifecta show at the Second Street Gallery. This is a fund raiser for the gallery and you can also purchase the small works online. Everyone is priced at $100.00!  Check them out: https://squareup.com/store/second-street-gallery-inc

Or these are the opportunities to see them in person:

September 5th, 5-7pm: @Season 45 Kickoff PartyYour 1st opportunity to view the works in person in the gallery.


September 7th: 5-6pm: Private VIP reception for the artists and special guests, catered by APimento Catering. A small # of tickets will be released for this event at our event on the 5th. The works in the show will go on sale at 5pm sharp.

September 7th, 6-8pm: FREE public First Friday Opening Reception: Teeny Tiny Trifecta. FREE and open to all! Works will continue to be sold throughout the opening on a first come, first serve basis.

September 8th: Works will be available for purchase online. https://squareup.com/store/second-street-gallery-inc

$100.00

Carol Barber
"Feel," 2018
Mixed media
5 x 7 inches (10 x12 inches, framed)

Work up at Random Row Brewing Company

I had fun hanging pieces together that have never shown together before. Join me for a beer on Wednesday evening, June 6, from 5 to 8 pm to check it out in person. I would love to see you! 

From the Organizer:

Random Row Brewery features Carol Barber for the month of June. On June 6th a reception for the artist will be held 5 - 8 pm. A great time to enjoy art and great beer. Location: 608 Preston A, Charlottesville, VA 22903 Hours: M-F 4:30 - 11, Sat-Sun noon- 9pm, (434) 284-8466

Cheers to 2017!

I was so happy with my studio time this year. Making new connections on Instagram and being involved with the Welcome Gallery in downtown Charlottesville, VA were also some highlights. So many things I want to accomplish in 2018: one is getting my art out into the world in an organized way, working on exciting compositions and bringing the magic of working on paper to canvas. I am also working on my teachers' certification. Hope all of your dreams come true in 2018!

Built on Broken Dreams

18” x 24”,

acrylic on canvas

Spring Blossoms

18” x 18”,

acrylic on canvas
Available

Alternate Paths II

14” x 17”, 

acrylic & cut paper on paper

Alternate Paths I

14” x 17”, 

acrylic & cut paper on paper

Where the Green Grass Grows II

14” x 16”, 

acrylic & cut paper on paper

Towering

14” x 17”, 

acrylic & cut paper on paper

Destination Vacation

24” x 36”,

acrylic on canvas

Available works on paper matted to 8" x 10"

Carol H. Barber © 2017

Artist Exchange

The New City Arts Artists Exchange show! I was so happy to be included in the artist exchange this year. I created 16 pieces of similar art to be traded with 13 other artists. So now I own 13 pieces of new and original art and two of my pieces will be sold to help the gallery and Housing2Home. A show of each of the pieces from the exchange will be shown for two weeks at the Welcome Gallery from January 12 – 26, 2018. I hope you can come to the opening, Friday, January 12 from 5PM-7:30PM off the downtown mall in Charlottesville, VA.

 Gallery and show information

Above is my exchange art when it was still together, now it is dispersed among the artists and gallery.​ Looking forward to seeing you in 2018!    –Carol Barber

Visual Poetry

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “We may climb into the thin and cold realm of pure geometry and lifeless science, or sink into that of sensation. Between these extremes is the equator of life, of thought, or spirit, or poetry—a narrow belt.”

My graduate advisor, Dr. Halide Salam, just posted this quote. It gives me inspiration and new energy. I got into pitching geometry with spontaneous brush strokes from watching clouds interact with mountain shapes on my daily drives. But this is so much deeper. The quote was with an exhibition of the work of the late Jake Berthot.

"New Years", collage and acrylic on paper, 9" x 12", Carol H. Barber © 2017

New Painting

I am happy the composition that emerged in this painting. I painted on raw canvas and I think the novelty of the experience slowed me down and kept me from overworking it. I was surprised that the painting became about texture. The brush strokes did not readily stick to the raw canvas and this gave a dry brush effect. I thought it was going to be more poured stains and look like watercolor. I will now seal the back and the front of the canvas to keep it from shifting in color.

"Soft Landing", acrylic on raw canvas, 25"x 39"
Carol H. Barber © 2017

Pink Notes

This painting, Pink Notes, spoke to me in new ways. I find the process of collage so satisfying and an inventive way of working. I have been trying to bring that way of working into painting. This painting has some collage added to it and it has a history of layers but still retains some of it's initial thin washes. This is the first time I thought of shapes not just coming together to construct something but expanding apart and still relating to each other. I love finding those relationships and to me this is visually composing. I have very limited musical knowledge but this process and painting feels like visual music to me. Notes (or shapes) hanging in the air, expanding and leading to another.

Pink Notes, 12” x 24”,

acrylic and collaged paper on canvas, Carol H. Barber©2017

Sweet Secrets, 8” x 10”,

acrylic and collaged paper on paper, Carol H. Barber©2017

This years beach paintings

Here are some closer pictures so that you can see these beach inspired paintings a little better. I love Golden acrylic mediums, they can alter the paint to be fluid, creamy, transparent or grainy. Perfect for capturing the feeling of the ocean.

Surf and Sand, 18" x 24", acrylic on canvas
© Carol H. Barber 2017

Catch a Wave, 16" x 12", acrylic on canvas 
© Carol H. Barber 2017

Last Year's Vacation Painting

Go to the Ocean

18” x 24”,

acrylic on canvas, Carol Barber©2016.

Whoa Two Years!

Hello Google Search World,

I stopped keeping this blog two years ago, about the time I allowed myself to go nonrepresentational in my art. I have grown so much towards art of which I can be truly proud. It is still a journey and new things to strive towards everyday but I love the path that I am on. I caught a glimpse of my art in a google search today and WHAT? Nothing new in two years!?? I have been active on Instagram and my Wordpress but not here. So does that mean I don't exist in the Google world? I guess so. Now let me start working to get you caught up Google. I am going to post some favorites from the last two years and see what happens. Thank you for an interest in my work, I would enjoy hearing from you. Art is my lifelong passion.

Carol Barber

The Other Side, 16" x 20", acrylic on canvas, Carol Barber © 2016.

Simplify

I feel like I am doing a 180 from complexity to simplification. But the more abstract my work becomes, the better the response seems to be. I have discovered that the initial drawing from nature is not only essential for inspiration but keeps me happy during in the entire process. Can't let that go.

But simplification is not always simple, these are two versions I want to keep, there are others discarded.

Matting and framing

I haven't presented works on papers in quite awhile. I am excited how they look matted, really brings them out. However I have encountered a couple of frustrations when ordering products. One is most frames do not come with wire hanging hardware which is required when hanging in a gallery. The frames I usually order for my paintings from pictureframes.com come with all the needed hanging hardware. Didn't realize what a plus that was. I did think to order some custom mats in a slightly off white because I knew I would not like the bright whites that come with the frames. To me, off white looks better with watercolor paper. But I always forget you have to order backing boards extra. Most of the time when you order a mat you really also need an acid free backing board to go with it. So if you are rushing to get ready for a show, don't forget your wire hanging hardware and backing boards. I will be going out to get mine tomorrow.

Doing happy art makes me happy

I discovered something. Not just creating art that turns out well makes me happy but creating light, joyful art makes me physically happier and less stressed. I hope it is the same experience for the viewer.

Usually I only really like one section of a painting but this painting I only like in its entirety. Maybe that means I am improving?

More Abstract

I have been working prolifically and my art is becoming abstract. The work is leading me to use bigger brushes and prompting me to seek simpler compositions with less shapes. I paint with a sense of motion and desire more transparency of the media and areas of compressed space and overlap in the composition. I love light colors and want to use more of those. I am finding relief in the simplified works on paper not sure why the paintings on board are so complex. Really glad that I tried watercolors.

Mixed Media on Paper

 Paintings on Wood

In the Studio

So at the end of the Summer we got the studio renovated but I did not get much chance to use it until now. I imagined that I would have stations set up for drawing, collage and painting so that ideas would develop from the process and one idea would lead to another. My dreams have come true because that is what is happening. I am discarding about half of what I am making and I am itching to work on canvas again but new ideas are developing. These are all works on paper, I feel working on paper is faster and I want to keep things progressing quickly. I wonder how I would add painting on canvas into the mix? Sometimes when I get involved in a large painting I just work on that exclusively. I believe that I would need to just add it in and have several canvases ready to go. The studio seems to be like juggling and adding canvas would be like throwing another ball into the air. I am also using one drawing as a basis for all of the work but each one is still coming out differently.

Class Schedule

My Classes Coming Up at the Arts Center in Orange

I am excited about the new classes I have on the schedule:

https://artscenterinorange.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/the-arts-center-in-orange-winter-2014-15-news-classes.pdf

540-672-7311

email: theartsorange@aol.com

Drawing from Still Life

to Discover Your Style

Draw from still life set ups

and choose art elements to

emphasize. Use tracing paper

to further stylize and simplify

your drawings then execute

a finished piece in a media of

your choice.

Tuesdays, March 10 and 17

Time: 6-8pm

Instructor: Carol Barber

Ages: Teens, Adults

Registration $40, Supplies $10

 

 

Explorations in Nature

Use a variety of media to

gather sketches outside from

close up details to sweeping

landscapes

Tuesdays, March 24 and 31

Time: 6-8pm

Instructor: Carol Barber

Ages: Teens, Adults

Registration $40, Supplies $10

Paper, Paper, Finally Paper

For about six months, I have been thinking I really wanted to try working on paper with mixed media and I finally got a chance to go for it. I am happy with the results, I feel like the work has a freshness and room to breath. I enjoyed physically layering cut paper onto the work also. I can't wait to try it again.

Looking Forward to 2015!

I have a number of classes proposed for the Winter session at The Arts Center In Orange. These classes are meant to explore the unpredictable and mysterious nature of the creative process. I hope to find some participants to embark on this artistic adventure with me.

https://artscenterinorange.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/the-arts-center-in-orange-winter-2014-15-news-classes.pdf

I have one more month of full time elementary art teaching. This experience has been a great learning adventure. I am happy to report the individual spirit of our American youth is alive and well. These students could have tried to copy Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry, Starry Night" but I believe every one was inspired to follow their own artistic voice. The magic of children.

Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Pumpkins

I am having so much fun with Vincent Van Gogh and the fourth grade students. The students seem to really enjoy creating in his style.

Veterans Day Concert Art

From September through December, I am being a long term substitute teacher to approximately 440 third through fifth graders. I love coming up with projects and delighting in their creations. I have benefited so much from other teachers' projects that I have discovered on the internet. To give back, I wanted to share one of mine. I gave each student of a third grade class, a six inch square either white, blue or red. This assembly is large 6' x 9' once I glued the squares down on bulletin board paper. Most classes I gave a template of a head to trace onto construction paper to make into an American they are proud of. A lot of the students talked about family members that serve in the military. I also gave them some star templates to trace. Two classes I tried asking them to make an object that causes them to be proud of the U.S.A. My paper sample was ice cream because it reminded me of Fourth of July. So you see a lot of ice creams but I think it makes it look celebratory. Happy Veteran's Day!