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Q: What is it about soft pastel that you find so intriguing that you use it...
Some of Barbara’s pastels A: For starters it’s the medium that I fell in love with many years ago. I recently read this article online, “What is Pastel?” by Mike Mahon, and will quote it because it...
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Q: How do you feel about accepting commissions?
“Reunion,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 38″ x 58″, 1990 A: By the time I left the Navy in 1989 to devote myself to making art, I had begun a career as a portrait painter. I needed to make money, this...
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Q: How did you prepare yourself to change careers and work as a professional...
“Krystyn,” charcoal, 22″ x 30″, 1989 A: At the age of 33 I was a Lieutenant in the Navy, working as computer analyst at the Pentagon. I was very unhappy with my job. I began looking for something...
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Q: Would you talk about your use of Mexican and Guatemalan folk art as a...
Models, reference photograph, and pastel painting in progress A: For me an interesting visual property of these objects is that they readily present themselves as a vehicle for exploring formal...
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Q: Would you say there is a unifying quality to all of the work you have...
Barbara’s portfolio book A: Yes, I can think of several. Whether making pastel paintings or printing photographs in the darkroom, I have always been concerned with quality and craftsmanship and never...
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Q: Please speak a little about the history of pastel.
Some of Barbara’s soft pastels A: Pastel has been in use for five hundred years. Its invention is attributed to the German painter, Johann Thiele, in the 16th century, followed by Venetian artist,...
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Q: In the “Bolivianos” series you are exclusively depict masks. What drew you...
Source material for “The Champ” A: For me a mask is so much more than a mask. It is a living thing with its own mind, its own soul, and with a unique history. With this series I feel as though I am...
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Q: What makes you drawn to face masks?
“Raconteur,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38,” in progress A: For me a mask is so much more than a mask. It is almost a living thing with its own soul and with a unique history. I always wonder,...
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