CARMEN BAREFIELD
ARTIST STATEMENT
I embrace painting as a way to create beauty and response through the use of loud colors and varied textures. My paintings fuse the application of color and the exploration of mood. Having a mother who is a working artist, my experience with creativity sprouted at a young age. In 2007, I earned a BFA from St. Edwards University in Austin , Texas
Watching my mother create pen and ink fashion drawings for print, I became inspired by her use of bold, dark lines. As a contemporary abstract painter, those bold lines now embody my style and approach towards process and production. I also saturate each painting with colors and fill them with texture by applying a combination of acrylic paint and additive texture mediums to large scale canvas to achieve my preferred results. With heavy attention to design, I am able to control the subject matter and maximize the interaction between light and color. I try to evoke a sense of energetic calm by applying bold color contrasts and energized paint strokes.
Each piece in my current series, We the Stripes, is composed using a similar multi-layered rendering technique. Each painting begins with an intended color palette and mood. I initially apply paint in angled lines, letting the pattern evolve organically. Once I begin to layer the paint, I collect hints as to where to go next by observing the relationship between each line. Once I have a bright foundation of paint to work with I apply textures. The iterative overlap of elements enriches individual expression in each piece and deepens the cohesion within the series. A painting is complete once I feel that the colors and textures are in balance and communicate the original mood intended.
I am inspired to create images that speak subtly or loudly to each viewer individually. My hope is that my audience will feel comforted and excited and use my art to enhance their environment. My current goals as an artist are to learn through practice, conversation and observation, to explore new processes and increase both the physical scale and geographic range of my work.
