...For as far back as I can remember, I have always loved art. As a child I would wonder about the particular painting I was looking at........what was the artist thinking......was this a familiar scene... what was the story behind it......I was curious about brush strokes and color selection. I was a student of the arts before I was even consciously aware of it.
When I became married and had three children, during the process of nurturing their gifts and discovering their potential, I had to seriously look at my own desire to create works of art. So I started small with pencil sketches, then I painted designs on small pieces of pfurniture, then I painted scenes on rocks in acrylic paints.
For the past three years I have been fortunate to live on the Lake Ontario shoreline. As a result, I have been recipient to some of the most spectacular views imaginable. Dazzling sunsets, sparkling waters, grasses and reeds and creatures of the sky have all become my subjects and , what I have discovered, the purpose for my work.
As I study these subjects with a critical eye, I have become consciously aware of the splendor of nature....the beauty and color which surrounds us every day. It is this awareness to my spirit, what my soul already knows........that all of creation is the handiwork of Jesus. And so my purpose in my artwork is to generate that same awareness to your spirit to what your soul already knows.
Barbara McNeil joined Fine Art America on June 2nd, 2012.
