Barbara Bouman Jay

The development of my art has been a continuous and intuitive journey of 35 years; a voyage of experimentation, exploration and evolution. Having had the unique experience of spending several years in Sub-Saharan West Africa, crossing the Sahara Desert and absorbing cultures so unique to my own, I have been inspired by the vastness of open spaces. This appreciation of living in different places gave me a unique perspective on form and space and the potential of openness, which I consider to be integral to my art. My most recent body of work, entitled BEYOND SEEING, consists mostly of oil, wax and plaster on panel utilizing a modified fresco technique named A Secco. In my 1300 square foot studio (MUSE Ranch) the paintings are planned as much by my nature as my thoughts, evolving through the application of layered materials, gesture making, dragging and scraping. A surface is established that is new and exciting and inspires the next journey of rediscovery. I recognize the indeterminate possibilities and outcomes of each piece and act upon impulse and intuition, while maintaining a stylistic coherence, keeping the empty space in my work as important as the space accentuated with marks, shapes and colors. The methods I’ve developed support spontaneous creative expression through my relationship with the medium. I engage with ideas of automatism, to work from the subconscious. A cycle of reconstruction and deconstruction continues until the piece becomes relevant for me. I can relate this to a meditative, sensual and intuitive journey into boundless space. Through these pieces, I ask questions that inspire unpredictable answers, that provoke people into responding to what they see; to leave them with the depth, the surface and the characteristics of the materials to complete the picture in their own terms of exploration and judgment and to enjoy a sense of intrigue. I have no favorite deep or elegant and beautiful explanation for my work, it simply is…it just is . http://www.costellochildsart.com/gallery/clicksite.cgi?cart_id=6178693.28336*R97NR0&xm=on&ppinc=D-IND&p_id=BBJ-820