The first of 3 videos with Joya Iverson of Tin Umbrella Coffee

http://youtu.be/i4hMu_N-cXk

And Something I'm Proud of:

As you know, a few days ago I shared my biggest fear!  So today I'm going to talk about something I'm proud of (besides finally admitting to my fear). And i will keep this on point to my art - lest I get all caught up in my philosophy of child-rearing and how amazing that worked out!

As with all transitions in life, the hardest part is changing ones self perception. We live in a world of identification by job title. When I graduated from college I ended up working in television. It was at a time when cable was really taking off. As I had worked hard to go into film since I was 14 and studied acting in London at 16, shot and edited a documentary film in Katmandu Nepal in college, it was a relative breeze to work as a production coordinator for a television series. My boyfriend and I both wanted to move to New Mexico and get out of LA. Meanwhile at my job, management and the owner wanted to promote me to General Manager, overseeing post production for 2 feature films and 5 television series. I only found this out once the car and U-Haul were packed and we were literally driving out of the driveway. That's when the phone rang with the job offer.  At the time I was 22.  Had I stayed in the crazy freeway land of southern California, I certainly would have reached my goals of making movies - whether producing or directing - or acting.

We moved to Albuquerque, before the days of Breaking Bad or any studios were built. Occasionally I freelanced on low quality TV commercials. Mostly I worked at a series of random jobs while I developed my painting skills. My challenge was two-fold. My self perception was as a film director/coordinator/producer and i knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that I was good at that. And while frustrated with the process of learning to paint, I was more frustrated with the fact that my paintings didn't have a story that unfolded in scene after scene. I loved the temporal story telling of film making more than I realized!! Nobody understood. 'You want to be an illustrator? An animator? No, I didn't. I just wanted a large, cohesive group of paintings that was bigger than the sum of its parts - with really cool characters and an amazing story! What's not to get? I was isolated and I didn't know what form it would take. And then there was that massive doubt about if I was any good at painting anyway and if I would ever make the transition mentally.

So what I'm proud of: Hanging in There and finding a way to create a story with the characters and landscapes. AND reaching a point where I feel all the confidence toward my painting career that I felt towards film making - and being able to combine both skill sets together. Super Excited to unveil the project soon!!!!!

The Divide

The Divide    36" x 48"  

As our characters find their way out of the Crystalline Forest, they are confronted with their next challenge. It's going to be a long way to get to the Gabriella Passage. They can almost see it way off in the distance.

What would you, the viewer, think if you found yourself having to pass through this land? What if you had to cross The Divide? How deep is it and what's at the bottom? Does anyone live here? As I write this story, with the painting prompting my writing and the writing prompting the next painting, it's fun. As a viewer, does it make  you want to participate? I'd love to hear your thoughts!! Please feel free to comment.

This painting is available for purchase at: http://barbaraferrier.com/workszoom/1578593

And My Biggest Fear is:

(I've accepted a Holloween Challenge to admit my fears) 

Snob. Yes, you read that right. Snob. Really, I think to myself. That’s it? You’ve held yourself back all these years because some people are snobs? It’s true. It’s not a fear of rejection. It’s a fear of irrational rejection, based on arbitrary rules made up Just to Reject by snobs. The kids in 3rd grade who wouldn’t talk to you because of your shoes or hair tie, for example..

How does this relate to my painting? Back in the olden days - say 1995, art dealerships were the primary source for selling original paintings. And because there were so few of them compared to the number of artists, they had an unreasonable amount of power. They borrowed inventory from artists, cutting their overhead dramatically compared to a store.. If  you were an artist you needed a Gallery With Integrity. If they had poor business skills it was a big risk. In the city I lived in, the snobs thrived!! One gallery had 360 artists - they had 3  artists show each month. And they took an exclusive for the whole state! Want to be taken off the market to say you had a gallery?  In other parts of the country, relationships between artists and galleries were very reasonable. I knew a dealer from New Mexico who opened a gallery here, looked at the 'provincial culture' and within a few months packed her bags and moved back. She knew what professionalism looked like.

I was offered a show in Portland in'97. It was during a time when my husband had been laid off and we were scrambling. I was running a fundraiser with a limited edition print and had several articles published in various magazines. My prints were selling well around the country, but they weren't replacing my husband's salary and we  had 3 kids under 7 at that point. It was precarious. The gallery in Portland had bought and sold several prints and they had six customers waiting for prints to arrive!  I suggested the gallery buy my smallest, least expensive painting wholesale, or the six prints for their waiting list (either would have covered my cost to travel and deliver more work).  They went to an Art Dealer Association meeting. The dealers as a group said artist must always deliver the art first and get paid later - even prints that were selling well. Was that snob or just bad advice? Since I couldn't afford to travel (but felt ashamed to admit it), they cancelled the order for the prints because they didn't want to offend the other art dealers by paying for them. They had wanted to add two more prints and had already published one of my paintings in an advertisement! I lost. The customers lost. And the gallery that made it's money on framing lost. Do you suppose they were afraid of rejection or afraid of a snob at that meeting? The moral of the story? Don't let a clique make your business decisions! And never fear a Snob.

Meanwhile I sold my prints directly to people in the US, Japan and Canada and enjoyed that immensely!! I always knew prints arrived in good condition because I called and asked.

 Boldly Forward is my new motto.

Back Story of this painting project

I want to tell a short story about where this project came from - it may feel like ancient history to my those who know me. I think that means when an idea sticks, it's lighting your path.

When my oldest daughter was born I went through the upheaval of having no sleep, a 24/7 responsibility without  weekends or semester breaks or anything that historically had been a reprieve when I was this exhausted. I was home with her unless we were taking walks. I was blown away by the magnitude of the energy required. I was so sleep deprived I didn't feel safe driving to the grocery store! I eventually looked into daycare but when they said 3:1 ratio I thought 3 adults, right? She easily consumed all of the mental and physical energy of three adults!

Deliberate Intention, the theme of All My Work, was something I first implemented in a PEPS support group while creating the world for my family that would be satisfying. We parsed our childhood experiences so we could be deliberate about what traditions we passed down. We talked about Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc, and made deliberate decisions. I remember stumbling into Easter with no plan, just the old family playbook.  Immediately realized I needed to be more intentional. It was a powerful lesson that stuck with me.

One night my husband and I were looking through my paintings and we started talking about what it would be like to walk into the landscapes. Who would we meet there? What was that place that felt so 'enter-able.?' We started telling creating stories inspired by the paintings. It was so exciting to watch this whole world come to  life and become a place. And, having a large project I could control immediately increased my patience and my happiness level. My daughter was 6 months old.

That painted world has lived with me for all these years! I've written several stories or chapters, made a coloring book and now it's being integrated so you can share and enjoy this project!

October 1, 2014 UPDATE of THIS BLOG

I have several ongoing painting projects that are very important for me to share. Some of these projects appeal to different people, and as a result they can get confusing. I want to describe them separately just to clarify.

1)I have a story that I've alluded to here before. It's called the Land of Kalendra. Ultimately it is fictional, somewhere between a novel, a feature film and a video game. It's made out of paintings and writings and I haven't released many of my words yet. We'd best consider it trans media - but some of the media it involves are things like coloring book pages based on my paintings - not so high tech. I'm fine with technology, but I like things I can make with my hands. And face it, who doesn't like to color? It feels good and I promise my designs, as I release them will be satisfying.  I even have work book pages with questions the characters in the story have to answer so  you can ask what you'd do if you were them. Depending on the mood someone is in, they can draw, write or read and enjoy the landscapes of this completely fun and colorful place and its characters. I'm also planning to make more paintings available as high quality prints - so they're affordable to a lot of people.

2)Using the same style (because it's the one I really thrive on), I have a different project called "Images of Empowered Women." In that project I paint portraits of amazing women and write their stories. I haven't released any of those yet - but they're coming.

3)And of course my 3rd, equally relevant project is providing custom portraits for people - again in my signature style. With those paintings I once again create the portraits in my way, but sometimes people have special requests beyond making sure I capture their likeness. Each of those projects provide it's own gifts as well.

If you at any time have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I am located at barbara@barbaraferrier.com

Thank you so much. I am grateful you stopped by my blog. I hope I can be of great service to you in the future. That's what I'm here for.

By Moonlight

By Moonlight, 12 x 24 $975

You can feel the night air on your cheeks, as you wonder what it would be like to actually cross that moon bridge over the water.

Come for an adventure (in Spain)

This is an original portrait of my youngest daughter on a trip to Spain. It is permanently in the collection of the artist - yes, I commissioned myself on this one. This is also a part of the World of Kalendra series in which Angela beckons you to go on an adventure with her.

Rock Climber

How Portraits make a difference: Portraits, by their nature are a visual document. They can record history and have been used that way for centuries. But they also create mythology and tell stories. Ultimately they fall into the category of an ‘emotional truth.’ Characters within a mythology, like Gandolf, or Merlin (in his many literary incarnations), stand for ideas and hope that lead us through the darkness of the stories as we read or watch them. My own portraits cross between both worlds – that of fiction and that of real life because many are based on specific individuals and therefore are historical in nature. But the stylistic way that I show people places them in a more fictional world. Others, like this rock climber, are on a mission we can all relate to. They really exist in our collective emotional memory – even if we’ve never scaled a wall like this.

Walenda: Chiaroscuro Lighting Follow up

Walenda is a character in my Land of Kalendra world. - She's an important leader.
This is a follow up image based on my desire to use more chiaroscuro lighting. This painting is based on a beautiful photograph by San Diego photographer Lev Tsimring.  More of Lev's photography from around the world is available at www.levtsimring.com. That photograph was used with permission and changed dramatically as I made the painting my own.

Jasmine

This is Jasmine. She has so much energy and spunk. The original painting is sold. A print available soon. Please leave comments here.

Violinist Time Lapse

The Violinist, based on Shannon Frid of Cloud Cult, was a genuine pleasure to paint. In this time lapse you can see that when I began this painting she was seated next to a window at sunset. The lighting that day was so beautiful. As I painted I realized that I could show her beauty off so much better if I created a dark background. When I put stage lighting behind her  the light coming in from the window fit perfectly. That lighting creates such an intimacy with the detail of her skin and face.

Cloud cult's music is so visual and with their painters performing along with the band I always associate the two together. It was natural to add color to the violin itself - as if the violin makes music by its very being - even when it isn't being played.

   $1250

As always your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Story about Me

    At 14 I decided to go into film acting and directing. I was on track, studying acting in London, student directing, acting wherever I could. Then at 18 I paralyzed my left hand in a work related accident. Everything in me said 'Learn to Draw' - deep down I knew it was a skill I'd need. Moving forward with my studies I made a documentary film in Nepal while living in a farming village and backpacking through the Himalayan mountains.  I also painted watercolor landscapes.

    When I went to art school, I was shocked the teachers carried razor blades in their pockets to make sure the students did things 'right,' physically cutting student's work while saying "there's only one right way."  6 weeks into the quarter, I re-enrolled at my college, and committed to learning as much as I could from other art students in the short time I had left. The professors who sent me to Nepal were decent and supportive.  I studied film making through the anthropology department and learned about cultures through film making.  I decided to study the art of other cultures with them also. As a result I learned about the valuable role of the arts in cultures throughout time. I leaned how symbols like images, music and dance hold cultural stories and help pass them from generation to generation.

    My biggest hurdle was my own self perception. In American elementary schools kids were judged by their illustrated stories. Students who knew how to draw were praised. Everyone else, including me, felt bad about their ugly, messy work.  Changing that self perception took years. Creating skillful work wasn't enough.  My early deep belief had to be overturned and replaced in order to move forward with pride.

    I worked in television in L.A. and left a big promotion to move to New Mexico with my boyfriend to paint. Stuart convinced me my energy was better spent painting, and I knew the air pollution and stress in LA was harmful. I'd have nightmares and wake up with an uneasy feeling.  And yet I loved my work and the people I worked with. In New Mexico I painted a lot, but I  felt I was leaving valuable story telling skills behind. This Kalendra project helped me find the balance.

     My paintings needed a story - one that was universal, timeless and bigger than all of us.  I've been developing this world, it's characters, and a map of their journey. This is where it all begins. And I invite you to enjoy the journey with me moving forward.

    Beyond the shores of the Washlin Ren and above the Kumerlin Plains, lies a world of magical characters and breathtaking valleys. It's  powers have been discovered, it's borders still unknown. Join me as I explore this world through a cast of characters who find themselves struggling to navigate harsh environments and develop a keen sense of whose advice they can trust and what must be discovered for themselves. We have just entered the "Land of Kalendra." Welcome.

To stay up to date please join my mailing list on this page.

A tour of Custom Portraits. How to hire me.

Did you know that I do custom portraits of you and your loved ones? I'm not sure if that message has been made clear enough. So Sarah and Stuart, the amazing film makers at Blue Fern Productions, helped me make this video to explain the portraits and give a better context. Details and photographic guidelines are on the website.

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated!

FIRST VIDEO coming soon!!!!!

Yesterday we filmed an interview where I talk about my paintings and process. It was fabulous to articulate my goals for my custom portrait work that I want to share. But I was intimidated for about the first 20 minutes. Finally I let go and started to talk normally (rather than slowly, cautiously and using a bazillion words). I hope the finished video will be ready to show within the next week!!
By the end what had taken sentences just took a single sentence. I'm excited to build speaking skills!! See you soon!!!

Sophia Leads the Way

Sophia- Another portrait I finished for the Portrait Series I've been working on. If you'd like a custom portrait please visit my website.  All the details and a link for us to get started working together are available. OR you can e-mail me at barbara@barbaraferrier.com and we'll talk.

                                                                           $1250

Your comments are welcome and valued.

Bike Rider

 The Bike Rider has a special place in our hearts. We remember biking our whole lives. There was the Big Trip that stands out. For me it was biking from Seattle to northern Vancouver Island, camping on San Juan Islands, pedaling past fields of grain and fruit and singing at the campfire at night.  My rider Jazelle expands our reach into the Land of Kalendra. This'll be an adventure to remember.              $1150.00

Your comments are appreciated and welcome.

Kassara, the heroine of the Kalendra story

Your comments are valued and appreciated.

This project is called The Land of Kalendra. Enjoy!!

Tahendra 

 Tahendra, the person shown here, is a traveler in the Land of Kalendra.   $1250  

What is Land of Kalendra? Here's the back story:
After my oldest daughter was born, it was hard to get time to paint - or do anything for that matter. She slept 5 hours at night and only took one 10 minute nap a day. I was afraid to drive to the grocery store I was so tired. The blessing in disguise (besides my daughter) was that at night my husband and I would  look at my paintings and invent stories chronicling  the adventures of a group of characters inside the world of my paintings.  At that time I didn't have the skill to paint portraits, so I wrote character descriptions and painted landscapes, confident I would develop the portrait skills.

I've been sifting through notes and finding more pieces of their story. The cast of characters I wrote about then are filling my canvasses now. I invite you to enjoy this adventure with me and add your 2 cents as you see fit.

Your comments are definitely valued and appreciated.

Lighting Approaches

                                                                                                                              $1250

I went to a concert in West Seattle where my favorite band Cloud Cult was playing. It was their first acoustic concert so they weren't expecting many people. They performed at the Arts in Nature festival the day after performing at the Seattle Center. Of course everyone wanted to be there!! The small community center they performed in was surrounded by a crowd because there was only room for about 80 people inside. The windows were open with people standing in the gardens outside and on the grounds. It was like the whole city had come to listen to them perform in what felt like a living room. We spent the day at the festival so we could be sure we were the first in line for Cloud Cult's concert. We earned our front row seats! They are all such amazing performers and kind people it was a real treat to be part of their first acoustic performance. My youngest daughter even made it her mission to give each of them a hug by the time we left that evening.  It was very memorable.

The band performed as the sunset streamed in through the window. The 'golden hour' light that lasts so long on an August night was spectacular. That was when the photograph was taken that I based this painting on.  Shannon Frid, their amazing violinist, was sitting near that window and had the lighting streaming across her face. When I first painted this I tried to paint the light coming through the window - but really it was too much detail and a distraction from her beautiful face. So I chose to use light rays more similar to a stage performance as a simple background.

Chiaroscuro Portraits

I have made some serious changes and now it's time to renew this blog (which I admit I abandoned for some time). I have been focusing on my portraits for the past several months. It definitely felt that was the direction my energies needed to flow. A collection of these portraits are at my website www.barbaraferrier.com. I was asked the other day if there was one thing I really wanted to do with my paintings – and honestly I’d have to say I want to improve my lighting techniques and the atmosphere of the paintings. I’ve always loved the work of Rembrandt and Rubens and their contemporaries in the 1400 -1600’s. Oh, yeah, it's also the lighting that is used in Film Noir, and in fact dramatic film, period. No matter how modern painting and design gets, there’s something timeless about the amazing chiaroscuro lighting that has been passed down for centuries. It’s definitely a keeper! And I’m increasing my use of it in my portraits. Next up for me: the shape of light!!!