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Q: Have you ever worked outside?
Reproductions of “Cardinal Rule” (top) and “Blue Ego,” originals are soft pastel on sandpaper, 30″ x 38″ A: As a pastel artist I’ve never worked outside – with so many pastels, it’s just not practical...
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Q: Can we see some of your early potraits?
“Krystyn,” charcoal, 22″ x 30″, 1989 “John,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 22″ x 28″, 1989 A: The reproductions above are two of my earliest. The portrait of Bryan (see last week’s post) is hanging at...
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Q: Would you please share a few more of your pastel portraits?
“Sam and Bobo,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 36″ x 31″, 1989 “Jules,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 28″ x 22″, 1989 “The Post Oak Jacks,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 31″ x 39″, 1990 “Reunion,” soft pastel on...
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Pearls from artists* # 127
eBook cover * an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. Two facts differentiate Daybook...
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Q: How do you decide how much realism and how much imagination to put into a...
Models, reference photograph, and pastel painting in progress A: I wouldn’t say “decide” is the right word because creating a painting is not strictly the result of conscious decisions. I think of my...
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Q: What was the first painting you ever sold?
“Bryan’s Ph.D.”, 11″ x 13 1/2″, soft pastel on sandpaper A: I believe my first sale was “Bryan’s Ph.D.” I made it in 1990 as one of several small paintings created to improve my skills at rendering...
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Q: Would you describe how you are taking soft pastel in new directions as a...
Barbara at work, Photo: Marianne Barcellona A: I have been devoted to soft pastel for more than thirty years. In this blog and in countless interviews online and elsewhere, I continue to expound on...
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Pearls from artists* # 308
“The Ancestors,” 70” x 50” framed, in Barbara’s studio *an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we...
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Pearls from artists* # 369
Central Park, NYC * an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. Salieri wrote a memoir of...
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Q: What’s on the easel today?
Preliminary sketch A: This is a preliminary charcoal sketch for my next large (58” x 38”) pastel painting. I loved seeing “The Champ,” 26” x 20,” blown-up as a poster in the London Underground so I...
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Q: Can you give us your current elevator pitch?
Discussing Bolivian masks with Nika, Photo: David De Hannay A: Here it is: I am a New York visual artist, blogger, and author. For thirty-four years I have been creating original pastel-on-sandpaper...
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Pearls from artists* # 412
Barbara’s studio *an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. The obstacles faced by women...
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Q: What kind of art do you create?
At work A: I live in the West Village in New York City and have been a working artist for thirty-four years. I create original pastel paintings that use my large collection of Mexican and Guatemalan...
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Pearls from artists* # 428
View from Isla del Sol in Bolivia * an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. In its...
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Pearls from artists* # 482
One of Viscarra’s masks at MUSEF La Paz *an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on....
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Pearls from artists* # 511
My paternal grandparents, left * an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. You do not need...
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Q: There are so many instances in the art world where paintings are...
Start of “Acolytes,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38″ x 58″ “Acolytes” finished A: For the record, a little-appreciated fact about my pastel-on-sandpaper paintings is that they can never be forged. To...
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Q: With so many soft pastels to choose from, do you have a way of organizing...
Barbara’s Studio A: The arrangement of my pastels evolved organically. I keep them in their original trays. My oldest pastel sets are closer to the easel and the newest ones are the furthest away....
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Pearls from artists* # 583
In the Studio Photo: Susan Erlichman *an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. Let’s...
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Pearls from artists* # 585
Barbara’s Studio *an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on. Improvisation, composition,...
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