Beth Barger Fine Art
_____
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought
together."
- Vincent van Gogh
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. In it, I hope to share a
bit about myself and what I'm working on, things I think about when I
paint, and offer up some inspiration. My intent is to make this a
monthly newsletter but this is new to me so we'll see where it takes
us. As I settle into my new life as a painter, it would mean so much to
hear your feedback and to have your help in sharing my work with others.
If you haven't already, please like my Beth Barger Fine Art FaceBook
page . You are also invited to
view my work at Beth Barger Fine Art website .
A spirit of giving
Several years ago, my family changed the way we exchange Christmas
gifts. Like many others, we draw names, however, what makes our gift
exchange unique is the giver must make the gift. Names are drawn at New
Years for the following Christmas, so everyone has a year to prepare.
Although not an original consideration, this approach changed the
anticipation from receiving to giving, even for the kids! Each gift is
made by its crafter with love and care specifically for the recipient.
Charlie
Charlie
For the gift exchange last Christmas, I drew my younger sister's name.
Charlie was the name of her imaginary friend. She now has a cock-a-poo
named Charlie. Although Charlie is smaller than my cats, she has a huge
personality that I tried to capture in this portrait of her. My sister
was thrilled to receive it and I was ecstatic that it meant so much to
her.
Let me know if I can help you with creating a custom gift made with
love and care for a special person in your life. House and pet
portraits are often very sentimental subjects and I paint both.
Commission details can be found on my Beth Barger Fine Art website
.
Living the artist's life
Since this is my first newsletter, I thought it might be helpful to
share a bit about myself. I was born in Syracuse, New York but as the
daughter of a Navy physician, my family moved about every 4 years.
Usually we were stationed along the east coast with highlights
including Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.
I've painted as long as I can remember
I've painted as long as I can remember.
My mom was an art teacher prior to starting our family and as her first
born, I've been an artist my entire life. After earning my BFA in
Graphic Design from ECU, I began my career in advertising. With a few
years of experience, I landed a graphic design position at IBM. Working
for a Fortune 100 company opened my eyes to a whole new world of
opportunity.
For a period of time, my employer reduced its focus on design and that
is when I went into management and HR. Interestingly, several of my HR
colleagues also had fine arts degrees, something I attribute to the
subjective problem solving skills required in both professions. After
lots of scrimping, saving and dreaming, I was lucky enough to retire
early and at the same time as my husband.
Free of the heavy demands from my corporate career, I am now focused on
returning to the arts. Since retiring in July, I have participated in
two plein air paint outs, painted at a corporate event, completed a
studio painting, created my new business cards and developed my new
website. As the weather cools, I'm shifting my attention to creating an
indoor studio and deepening my understanding of color and value.
Random musings
I've been working on color charts to enhance my understanding of value,
chroma and color mixing. The project includes one chart on a white
background and the other on a gray background. After building just
three value strings (black and white, cadmium yellow light and yellow
ochre) I am already intrigued by how different the exact same color
sample looks on the two different backgrounds, reinforcing that color
is indeed relative to the color beside it. As sometimes happens when I
paint, my mind then wandered to how much in life is relative and it is
that "relativity" that brings out the beauty or the beast.
Color studies
IMG_0825
For example, we all know how much our perception and understanding is
influenced by our own background, and is sometimes the source of
conflict. But relativity also creates ordinary beauty in our everyday
lives. As I was painting "A Muse Named Violet" I was taken by how the
green of the cushion reflected in the shadow of her paw. I only noticed
that reflected light because I was looking for how the colors and
values were relative to each other as I painted the shadows. Capturing
that in the painting became a secondary focal point.
Subtle reflected light is all around us, whether a red shirt reflecting
on a neck and chin, or the color of the sky reflecting on the leaves of
a tree but only by focusing on "relative" are we able to see the beauty
that it adds to our surroundings.
An Art Muse Named Violet - reflected color
An Art Muse Named Violet - reflected color
To see the entire painting of "A Muse Named Violet" visit my website at
Beth Barger Fine Art .
Inspiration
Hillsborough Arts Council's Paint It Orange Plein Air Paint-Out and Wet
Paint Sale
now
through Nov 30. Follow link for details.
Jerry's Artarama Art of the Carolinas
Nov 10,
11 and 12. For more information and to sign up for the workshops,
follow the link.
Who doesn't like ice cream? For some of the best, take a beautiful
drive through the country side to Maple View Farm and Ice Cream
. All of their
ice cream is hormone and antibiotic free and at any given time they
offer over 20 different flavors to choose from.
Painting at 1870 Farm
Me painting at the 1870 Farm
While painting in the Hillsborough Paint it Orange Plein Air Paint-out,
I discovered the 1870 Farm . What a gem! It
was like painting a fairy tale. The property is almost 150 years old
with sunlit pastures, winding paths leading visitors back in time.
Children can hang out with the farm animals, and classes are available
for people of all ages. Their beautiful barn is the perfect setting for
a special event.
_____
Please feel free to contact me at bbargerart@gmail.com
Most of my paintings can be viewed on my website at Beth Barger Fine
Art .
Boldbrush
Facebook Twitter
Pinterest
Linked In
Instagram
Sent from:
{{FASO_DOMAIN}}
{{AM_COMPANY_NAME}}
{{AM_COMPANY_ADDRESS}}
{{AM_CSZ}}
{{AM_COUNTRY}} Artful Mail by FASO
Learn More about ArtfulMail
unsubscribe from this newsletter