About this Blog

Unlike my website, this blog includes several approaches to painting all in one long stream. For example, my daily paintings are very spontaneous for the most part. I think of them as painted 'sketches.' My larger, more detailed paintings are also here, but included far less frequently.

As you read through this blog, you'll find that there are a lot of references to early experiences that shaped my approach and outlook. They're not chronological by any means. At my website, www.barbaraferrier.com you'll find my Bio is far more chronological. Some of the early experiences - like the desire to improve, and artists who inspired me - never go away - but the list of those I admire increases constantly. In the meantime I have some landscapes to (hopefully) post by Friday!!!

Barbara's Definition of Art

Balancing intuition, ingenuity and skill to make an impact on the audience is perhaps my ultimate definition of art. Each art trade has its tools. When these 3 components come together with the right balance it feels like 'skiing in the fresh powder.' Even if you have a spectacular wipe out from time to time, which is part of the process, it's just a matter of fine tuning to pick it back up.

When defining 'art' I refer to my experiences in film and stage, as well as my experiences painting. For example the character development of an actor, or timing and story telling for a film director are their art.

Painting, like film, has the opportunity to open up whole new worlds that the mind can enter. That is the part of the field that I value the most.

Fusion Art

I lived in a farming village in the Katmandu Valley of Nepal and made a film about art in that country while painting a series of landscape paintings. Nepal is a country the size of Tennessee with 550 separate languages. From the jungles in the south to Mt. Everest in the north, it’s not an easy place to get around. Nepal had no western influences until the late 60's. (I was there just 10 years later, in 1979, before running water or reliable electricity.) Traditional arts (on the streets and in the temples) had to transcend language and cultures to influence a very diverse group of people. This explains why some of the traditional artwork is so powerful.

I was most attracted to and influenced by the Nepalese use of color. I believe the strong color captures and helps to convey an emotional truth and transport the viewer. For me color is an essential part of visual language.

My paintings are really a ‘fusion art,’ the visual counterpart to today’s modern fusion music. It’s not really ‘outsider art’ because I’m not self taught. I have a fine art degree in painting and in film making. But the influences that changed my life and made my artwork such a fusion started with my trip to Nepal and the decision to study art through cultural anthropology. After that I traveled extensively and worked on an archeology site on the coast of Washington state and spent years in New Mexico.