Kendrick, Barbara

About

I am a landscape artist who enjoys painting both on location and in my studio overlooking the majestic San Juan Mountains. Using soft pastels in a representational style, I try to translate the beauty of the southwestern landscape into paintings that speak about my love of Nature. But I wasn’t always an artist.  

Growing up as the daughter of a career Air Force officer, my family travelled quite a bit and moved from place to place often. This made it difficult to establish a network of friends, and perhaps that is why I was drawn to art at an early age. I was encouraged by my Mother and my Grandmother, and  while in still in high school I was thrilled to present a portfolio to Norman Rockwell, who urged me to pursue a formal degree in art.  When my mother died during my senior year, my plans changed.  

Art was considered a risky career choice for women in those days, so I pursued a career in adult education instead, and art took a back seat in my life but not in my heart.  Living and working in the Washington D.C. area and traveling extensively on business had advantages.  At every opportunity I visited art museums, studying wonderful paintings and keeping the dream alive.  An exhibition of Thomas Moran’s work including his early field sketches of the Yellowstone and Colorado River expeditions was especially inspirational, as was an exhibition of French Impressionism.  But it was an extensive collection of California Impressionism that really influenced me to pursue art again.

A career change and a move to Colorado made that possible. The rest is history, as they say.  I am grateful that my work has received many awards, and is housed in both private and corporate collections including the Farmington Gateway Museum Permanent Collection, XTO Energy Corp., Maxwell Peterson LLC., Stone House Restaurant, and Alpine Bank collections. I am honored to be a signature member of the Pastel Society of Colorado and to have my art represented by Art by the Park in Ridgway, CO. To see more of my work please visit the gallery or my website at http://www.barbarakendrickstudio.com.

Website: barbarakendrickart.com
Facebook: barbarakendrickart