Artist Focus: Elizabeth Barlow

A closer look at the artwork of Elizabeth Barlow

When artist Elizabeth Barlow moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California several years ago, her work transformed dramatically. After years in San Francisco living an exciting urban life, she was suddenly surrounded by ocean mists, cypresses and year-round flowers.Mornings at La Mirada, oil on linen, 54½ x 47"“I found myself yearning to paint flowers,” Barlow says. “Each day now, I walk to my studio in the center of the village and I am greeted by other citizens of our precious world—roses, poppies, lavender and bougainvillea. My flora portraits are a wake-up call to pay attention to beauty because it will transform how we walk through this world.”

She often reflects on this quote by Rainer Maria Rilke: “Learn to fathom what a flower infers.”Aspire, oil on linen, 36 x 24"“Flowers 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 reemergence that lies within all living things,” Barlow shares. “Even the most tiny and delicate flower carries within it a fierce life force, which deserves our respect and protection. I want the beauty of my flora portraits to lure the viewer to pause and truly look at the world around us. In this way we can develop a reverence for the living things on this planet and awaken to the wonders of our precious home.”Hymn, oil on linen, 36 x 24"Barlow adds that she is honored to have her work featured at the Monterey Museum of Art’s Flora Fauna: A Tribute to the Natural World exhibition through April 16, alongside the work of her friend, fellow artist Susan Manchester.