By Allison Malafronte
Painting a single blossom has its merits, but Stacy Barter’s specialty lies in creating multi-flower still lifes with an impressive degree of complexity. The Florida artist classifies her traditional style as representational impressionism; she’s interested both in an economy of brush strokes and in the nuanced details that characterize specific subjects.
Barter has long appreciated how flowers’ intricacies and intense colors require thoughtful observation and decision-making from an artist. Over her 25-year career, she has painted every genre, but her floral work continues to receive attention and awards from collectors and jurors. Her painting IN FULL BLOOM, which recently won an Award of Excellence in Oil Painters of America’s International Wet Paint Competition, is just one example.
As a teacher for many years, Barter also cites still lifes as great instructional tools for understanding how to master form. “You can learn a lot about shapes and how light falls on and affects the appearance of objects when painting still lifes,” she says. “There’s a lot of symmetry and static objects involved, which offer great lessons in observing and conveying light and shadow.”
Having painted hundreds of florals from life, Barter continues to be inspired by conveying depth and dimension in her work, and by finding ways to lead the viewer’s eye through the compositional story in a purposeful way. “In addition to interest in color and light, I am almost always looking at the movement among objects,” she says. “Whether it’s by paying close attention to edges, creating specific focal points, or simply helping the viewer travel through a mass of flower shapes, designing a complex composition that keeps the eye moving and holds one’s interest is thrilling for me.” To learn more, visit www.stacybarter.com.
This article is part of the Welcoming Spring: Floral Paintings to Collect portfolio.
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