by Barbara Downs | Nov 5, 2011
At Open Studios, someone asked me why I don’t paint faces on my figures, which caused me to pause and question myself, “Do I paint faces?” Of course I do! They stare down at me from the paintings on my walls. My figures–and faces–have...
by Barbara Downs | Aug 17, 2011
On to Caravaggio. I’m a great admirer, but I know he has his detractors. “Too theatrical!”. “Painted in front of a backdrop, no sense of defining place”. Ok, ok, perhaps true, but perhaps that theatricality is what I like so much...
by Barbara Downs | Aug 6, 2011
I just took a large-scale drawing workshop taught by my friend and fellow artist Claire Thorson. It was a wonderful class, and Claire is truly a gifted teacher. She created a classroom environment in which it felt safe to experiment, and gave us the tools to do so....
by Barbara Downs | Apr 6, 2011
I’m helping Lila Klapman, a fellow artist, organize an invitational group exhibit for artists working on the west side of Santa Cruz. EDGE: Art on the Westside will be held at the R. Blitzer Gallery, located at the edge of town in a warehouse formerly occupied...
by Barbara Downs | Mar 21, 2011
If it’s in my studio, it’s fair game for revision. That’s my motto, especially with paintings. This painting, Nice Girls (40″x40″, oil on canvas), shown here as a ‘before’ and ‘after’, was revised a year after I...
