A R T N O T E S
A Closer Look
A Closer Look This drawing was built around a spot of ink. Very often I was my best (and only) model, so I drew my hand holding the drop. Funny how I have...
Art in Person
This Heavy Artwork is Meant to Be Seen in person By Barbara Bose This artwork is challenging to photograph. It's meant to be observed in person. It has a reflective acrylic overlay that...
The Universe is Expanding
The Universe is Expanding Barbara Bose The idea of infinity is a pretty big one. If it is true that there is such a thing as infinity, then any and all possibilities…
On Aging
On Aging (Written September 28, 2019 – two houses ago!) My husband and I have been very fortunate to have spent the last ten years, the bulk of our first eleven years together,…
Free!*
FREE!* by Barbara Bose Circa 1983: Posed as an attractive American swinging single, I sat down on one of the bouncy couches in the lobby of the timeshare condo, whereupon a…
On display at Corrick’s in Santa Rosa February – March
THE GREAT BEAUTY On display at Corrick’s — 630 4th Street Santa Rosa, Calfornia February 6 – March 30 A few years ago, a friend snapped a blurry photo of a woman who…
If I Could Turn Back Time
IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME Every painting has a creation story behind it – here’s how this painting slowly unfolded for me… by Barbara Bose I was riding my bike past…
The Sound of Wings
The Sound of Wings Much of what transpires in my novel, Tree of Lives, is an accounting of actual events in my life, though many identities are changed in order to prevent…
Thorny Issue
THORNY ISSUE This is from a dream about ketamine therapy. By Barbara Bose I keep a dream diary under my pillow. I don’t usually remember all of the content of my…
My First Artist Friend
George, My First Artist Friend In 1970, when I was a high school sophomore in Stamford, Connecticut, a senior named George spotted me during a fire drill. He had the wildest hair in…
Stayin’ Alive
Stayin’ Alive Barbara Bose 1988: On the night before my new job was to start I decided to clean up my art studio and clear out some old vibrations. It was a nice,…
Needs Must
NEEDS MUST Barbara Bose This is an only slightly retouched photo (believe it or not) . I added the face with my phone stylus, had it printed to canvas, then colorized with…
Livingstone’s Turaco, I Presume
Livingstone’s Turacao, I Presume Every once in a while I get inspired by an image of a beautiful creature that I paint in order to explore its beauty even more. This is…
The Great Beauty
THE GREAT BEAUTY Barbara Bose A friend snapped a blurry photo recently, while zooming on a scooter past a market in Morocco. I wanted to paint this lady’s beautiful gesture, captured during a…
The Universal Language is Wordless
There is a universal language we all speak fluently regardless of time, place, identity, religion, regardless of everything.
Sun Dog
Sun Dog Barbara Bose This large painting is from a photo I took of my backyard. I liked the simplicity of the composition and how all four elements are captured in the lower…
A Prayer
A Prayer Barbara Bose This is an oil and Sharpie painting on masonite. It was a fun and challenging surface to paint on, and actually quite forgiving but also scratchable so it is…
Abandoned
Barbara Bose This is my rendition of a beautiful photograph I saw in the New York Times by Dmitry Kokh. I painted it because I related to it, not to sell it or…
Requiescat
Resquiescat Barbara Bose This is a large oil painting about the importance of my new cat Sammy, who is an oasis of love and life in a time of turmoil. My old…
Niobe’s Shadow
NIOBE’S SHADOW Barbara Bose This large oil painting includes a reference in the background to the Greek mythological figure Niobe, whose weeps forever over the loss of her children. Cursed by the gods…
If Only Life Was Like Photoshop
If only there was a ‘shift+control+alt+delete’ for real life. We could instantly undo our mistakes, misspeaks and misdirections.
A Failure
A FAILURE Barbara Bose A small oil painting on a block of wood. A desert landscape with an escaped weather balloon that has gotten away from a lone figure in a hole in…
With You
WITH YOU, ALWAYS Barbara Bose This is a heavily filtered digital image of a nice moment in the past. It is also a wish that the time and love my grandson and…
Still Kickin’
Still Kickin’ Barbara Bose This image is my take on the 9,000 year old Ain Ghazal sculptures – this particular one is displayed at the Louvre in Paris. This was among dozens of…