T
january 2018
WA L K
HE EFFECT in both cases is a sense of inten-sity
that prompts the viewer to think about
the artist’s state of mind or experience in
the place, rather than focus on the repre-sentational
details.
Once she decided to start painting, Barrow
began traveling to France during summers to
take workshops and expand her skill. She has not had a technical
art education, but has learned through extensive, diverse and
intentional years of practice.
Barrow paints with both a knife and a brush, a necessity when
working with thick layers of paint. She also paints quickly, and
rarely draws or sketches anything before setting paint to can-vas.
“I draw with my paint,” she says. The result is a raised and
textured surface for each canvas and a palpable sensation of
motion.
This technique is especially relevant to her largest series,
which features coastal landscapes, French fields, exotic plains,
and rustic interiors, all in varying degrees of abstraction. The
paintings range from slightly abstracted to almost nonrepresen-tational,
but all of them share Barrow’s whimsical brushstroke
and dramatic color scheme.
Abstraction is an integral part of Barrow’s painting practice,
helping her convey not just what she sees, but how she sees it.
“Beach Roses,” one of Barrow’s prolific landscapes, showcases a
craggy, rolling beachscape in the background. The roughly hewn
foreground features bright flowers and tall green grass that flail
wildly in an imagined wind. Barrow’s mastery of light and move-ment
is visible here again in the balance of light and dark and
her ability to capture the tell-tale signs of a beach breeze in the
vibrantly colored plant life.
While she typically works in muted tones, “Beach Roses” is
an excellent
example of
Barrow’s skill
with brighter
combinations
when she does
choose to use
them.
Barrow can
always be
found making
quick work of
her gestural
and abstracted
paintings from
her unique
home studio,
which dates
Patricia Barrow’s studio was previously used
by Elisabeth Chant, a Wilmington landscape
painter from the early 20th century.
Eclipse Artisan Boutique
More than 100 local and
regional artisans:
203 Racine Drive, 910-799-9883,
EclipseArtisanBoutique.com
“Carnivale” ring
Sterling silver, pink
tourmaline, ruby and
yellow sapphires.
$385
Golden Gallery Cotton Exchange
311 North Front Street, 910-762-4651, www.thegoldengallery.com
For Sale By Owner
60
WBM
“Storm Tossed”
Original watercolor
and giclee prints.
Mary Ellen Golden’s
official 40th
anniversary print.
The Golden Gallery
opened on
December 7, 1977.
Large, original, framed Dominican/Haitian painting circa 1997.
42 inches by 31 inches.
Can be inspected by appointment only,
at 7232 Wrightsville Avenue, Ste. D, Wilmington, NC
Contact: Pat Bradford 910-367-1137 or 910-256-5830