barbara craig art

WELCOME TO

ARTWORKS BY BARBARA CRAIG

a selection of pieces created over the years are available to view on this website with a little explanation of the thought process behind the work.

Click on the years above to see more of the bodies of work and further information about Barbara.

2015

All my work this year was painted en plein aire or developed from an original plein aire painting, were the original image was simplified and abstracted. More time was devoted to sketching with no end purpose i.e. not as a basis for development into finished/framed work.

'MINNOWBURN BRIDGE no.5' acrylic 30x40cm

2014

This year I took a more casual approach to my work, letting pieces evolve from working sessions en plein aire and just enjoying the application of paint without any introspective thought process.

'THE LOST COTTAGE', acrylic 30x30cm


 

2013

New work has developed from the childhood memories body of work..

I travel to Bushmills on a regular basis and the paintings were initiated by this journey in distance and time. Landscapes reflect the boggy sparse  land approaching the north coast and are influenced by the  Seamus Heaney  'Bogland' poems.  I am also painting the impressions left by the life of my Grandfather who was a barber and his working environment . It is said upon his death his lungs were healthy even though he had worked in a thick smoky environment and smoked heavily himself. Microscopic hairs inhaled from years of cut throat shaving  made me visualise what is buried within/left behind, whether it be in the peat or lung.

The title of this body of work  'What is left behind'

'SPITING HAIRS' , acrylic, 20x30cm

 

 

2012 

This year I continued to work on pieces that were inspired by memories of my first 7 years living Portballintrae. The work has been varied in its execution - as random as the  way a memory pops into my head and then grows on the page developing a life of it's own. As one little shread of recollection feeds  into another, long forgotten tales influenced by family, friends, home, events, places emerge. The paintings can be pieced together like the building blocks I adored playing with. The narrative flows and the  sometimes random paintings build into a journey through the years and around my small world.

'END OF THE GARDEN, START OF THE WORLD' acrylic, 28x28cm

 


 

2011 

Work this year has used my early childhood as a starting point. This has given rise to 2 collectons within the theme, firstly a cotinuation of landscape based impressions  - this time drawn from memories of my birthplace; Portballintrae. And secondly 'portraits' of significant physical and nostalgic souvenirs from my early years; from items such as a dress or a toy, through recollections of a  fragment of time to relationships with family or friends are revealed.

The body of work is entitled 'Stories from things past'

 'THE FIELD, no.2', acrylic, 21x30cm

 

2010

'ARTISTIC RAMBLINGS'

This body of work develops from instances remembered whilst out walking in the local countryside. A  moment is captured in the mind's eye -  I've been attracted by a texture, colours, a movement, the atmosphere. These impressions are put onto the page quickly, spontaneously with vitality in the brush strokes and mark making. Sometimes there is textural interest, sometimes I can portray what I want to express in a few gestures producing abstracted reality.

 DELUGE', acylic, 21x21cm

 

 

 

2009

In 2009 I contined to work from coastal impressions, for example wind swept gorse and then moved on to images sourced from riverside walks, this would have included more reflection studies but due to time constraints I was unable to  develop the source material gleaned from walks along the Braid, Lagan and Bush rivers. I may return to this in the future. My main intention as I proceed is to become looser in style, as pieces in this vein are to me  the most satisfying and sucessful in outcome.. 

RED PATH , mixed media, 48X48cm

 

 

 2008

The start of the year most of my source material was from the shore at Portballintrae, later in the year I worked from photographs from a walk north along the coast road from Portaferry and trees and grasses feature in this volume of work.  Looking back I'm unhappy with the way the landscapes became more true to life from the previous pattern led work. But this may have been because at the same time I was producing 'abstract' paintings on the theme of refections so I worked quite happily on two tangents

 'DOWN TO THE SHORE', mixed media on board,  46X56 cm SOLD at Portstewart Gallery

 

 

 

2007

2007 was all about ploughed field patterns, I was fixated by the lines of the turned land in the Killynether area, a vegetable growing farmland near my home. The striped patterns predominated, layering the paint to illustrate the repeditive aspect of the croping of othe land, a lot of fresh bright colours prevailed with the introduction of some dribbling and splattering of paint.

 'GREEN FIELDS no.2', acrylic on board, 20X20cm, SOLD at The Yard Gallery

 

 



2006

I continued with small format lanscapes. Fields, coast scenes and trees predominated in some very strong colours, all the sources for the work were local or from Donegal. But also this year I produced a lot of farm bulding and cottage pieces some of which I was happy with - usually the more niave pieces, others were less sucessful, as always the more I strive in a certain direction or style the less it pleases me. The spontaneous and unplanned work satisfies me more. The first coastal pieces appeared this year as that was the subject matter for my sons G.C.S.E art! I produced a series of paintings 'Bangor Bunting' from our shared first hand research, I loved them but they didn't prove a commercial success!

'MORE CABBAGE FIELDS', acrylic, 20X20cm, SOLD at Gracehill Gallery 

 

 

 

2005

This was the year I started to paint landscapes, prior to this my themes were nudes, florals and abstract images from meditation. This year I was invited to show at the Basement gallery, Enniskillen so it was the first time I concentrated on a body of work. I was very keen on charcoals at the time producing these helped me render a landscape down to the key elements that attracted me to the scene - usually pattern rather than colour at this stage. My technique at this time was layering on the acylic and scrubbing back, which was time consuming and hard on brushes! to this day I don't bother to spend much money on 'good' brushes!'

'FAUVE FIELDS', pastel, 56X66cm, SOLD at Basement Gallery

 

 

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