In 2016, Elizabeth Barlow moved with her husband from San Francisco to Carmel-by-the-Sea on California’s Central Coast. “Suddenly, my world was suffused with trees, flowers, mists and soft sea breezes,” says the artist. “This verdant environment brought back memories of my childhood and led to a new trajectory in my work. I began a series called Flora Portraits,in which I depict flowers at many times their life size and set them in spare, monochromatic backgrounds.
Enlightened, oil on linen, 50 x 40 in.
“Because my process is slow and meticulous, each painting brings with it a way of slowing down and paying careful attention, something that is hard for most of us to do in our distracting digital age,” continues Barlow. “I have discovered that painting the intricate details of a flower is a meditation that promotes a deep reverence for all living things. Slow, careful looking gives us a chance to awaken to the beauty that is around us, and attending to beauty can be a transformative practice.”
Victoria’s Beauty, oil on linen, 36 x 24 in.
Today, Barlow paints flowers because “they are potent symbols of the incredible power of the life force on this earth, of strength within seeming fragility, and of the astonishing ability for rebirth and re-emergence that lies within all living things. I want my paintings to be a call to see and pay attention to beauty because it will transform how we walk through this world. By slowing down and looking at things deeply—in my case, by painting flowers—we develop a deep reverence for the living things on this planet and we awaken to the wonders of our precious home.”
Presence, oil on linen, 36 x 24 in.
Barlow is currently part of a group exhibition at Andra Norris Gallery in Burlingame, California, on view through October 3. —
Want to See More?
(415) 350-3524 | www.elizabethbarlowart.com
Represented by Andra Norris Gallery
311 Lorton Avenue
Burlingame, CA 94010 (650) 235-9775 | www.andranorrisgallery.com
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