Barbara described herself as an ‘Expressionist’ painter, harking back to the international art movement known for bold colors and exaggerated forms that flourished in the early 1900s.
Expressionist artists were not interested in how the world looks, but how it felt. Toward that end, Expressionism stylistically employed:
- intense colour
- agitated brushstrokes
- disjointed space
- primitivism & fantasy
Expressionism, which came to prominence in Germany & Austria in the years leading up to (and during) WWI, tended toward darker moods, mimicking the widespread cultural anxieties of their era, but Barbara typically exploited expressionist technique to celebrate the joy of life.
AUGUST – The Woman, The Horse, The Dog, The Birds, The Sand, The Ocean, The Sky
Although, by contrast, note a beach scene portrayed less enthusiastically, more cautiously.
Life is Dangerous
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The Hawks Perch 