ABOUT

I am inspired by nature - how things grow, how they change, how they function, and how different elements interact. What feelings are evoked by these shifts of interaction?

The act of letting the paint play is a constant movement and variation. Most importantly, it is a search for visual rhythm. When I begin by mixing colors, each tone informs the next. On canvas, I am guided by reactions between texture, shape, and contrast. It is a focused meditation - based on the moment rather than a map.

I am also an author currently at work on two historical book projects that explore world religion and animal symbolism in the ancient world. My memoir No End Of The Bed is currently available, and you can read my blog at www.laurenjbarnhart.com where I expound on art, religion, books, feminism, and family.

I live on beautiful Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, where the annual turn of weather, plants, and animals influence my artwork. I am continuing to explore a post-humanist philosophy, in which humans are not at the center of life, but in balance between human and nonhuman animals, plants, and other forms of energy. These varied elements co-exist in a delicate weave.