Artist's Statement

As a representational artist who also draws on the color, sound, motion, and symbolism of place, the language of my paintings takes its cue from my surroundings. The stories I tell may be found in "peopled" places: in the play of children, or in images that may simply be expressive of a subtle change in wind direction, or a cloud formation over a familiar lake. Even landscape can take on a personality and become expressive of an inner reality. That is the artist's job: to translate an inner reality into a painted vision. A stormy sky or a torrent of water may be an expression of an inner journey that begs to be shared.

The colors, textures, and gestural qualities of the way I apply paint to canvas or paper reflects the layers of perceived movement around me. More and more, my artwork incorporates the tension between the surface and the emphasis of the painter's touch. That paint can be dragged and scratched and modeled and blended on a two dimensional surface is a never-ending source of expression and a delight. It is the movement of the line in a sketch, and the texture of the paint that draw me back, time and again to the easel.

— Barbara Sholl, Lac du Flambeau