"Avocados Too" ~ Watercolor
"Mamie and Bea" ~ Watercolor
"Lily Burst" ~ Watercolor
The two sisters insisted on taking the bus downtown every Thursday to shop, dine out, and maybe see a movie. Early in the morning, a lengthy discussion ensued as to what to wear. Completely coordinated in salmons, pinks, baby blues, mint greens, or lemon yellow, the two ladies set out toting bus tokens in their purses, and sporting hats with flowers (always with flowers), gloves, costume jewelry, and pumps matching their outfits. The fragrances exuded were thick with magnolia, lilac, and oleander.
The combination of femininity expressed by the two grand dames, the heady paintings and statues of the museum, and a gift from God for things artistic, all came together in the "long neck ladies" which have become Barnes' signatures. The attitudes and poses of the subjects express the widest range of feminine emotion. The layers upon layers of brilliant transparent watercolor in gambouge, prussian, sap green, azrilian crimson, ochre and vermillion build to rich luscious color… and the touch of 14K gold gives these decorative art pieces a sparkle that warms the heart and reminds us of an era long gone…may it rest in peace…
Graduating from the University of Georgia in 1972 with degrees in Experimental Psychology and Philosophy and Religion, Tom met and married Gail Thompson of Guyton, Georgia. In Athens, Tom worked for Morris Communications as the Creative Services Director and Gail taught ballet.
Moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where their son Tyler was born, the couple worked for Community Newspapers, Inc. until they moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia where for thirteen years, Tom served Landmark Communications as a marketing executive. They continued their work with children in dance theatre, producing twelve original ballets and theatre pieces for Tidewater audiences.
In 1990, Tom retired from the corporate business world and began to paint. Recently, the family moved to the Denver area to help plant a church.
Self-taught, he works primarily in watercolors. Recently, the genre has changed to reflect his abiding passion with the Renaissance and his newfound love of the Pre-Raphaelitism. His florals almost always are abstracted forms with the same intense color rendering of his figures…but the added motion of a passing breeze adds yet another element of excitement. Likewise, his landscapes capture the techniques of the Fauvists and are stylized with mountains, hills, plains and lush foliage. His still life subject matter usually captures a chair, a table, a window, a jar and simple pieces of fruit…they always capture a moment of repose and reflection, interrupted by something unknown. Most all his work is on 140# Arches rough-press paper with Grumbacher Academy paints. His recent experiments on canvas debuted this June at Smith-Klein Gallery in Boulder.
Over the past ten years, his works have found their way into collections in Mexico, Bolivia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, England, Nigeria and Spain as well as many east coast and mountain states cities.
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