Barbara Craig

An update after 7 years!

I’m still alive.

I still occasionally post what I’m doing on Facebook at ‘artistic ramblings’ although I quite annoyed by the lack of reach of Facebook posts unless you pay to self promote.

I am on Instagram as Barbacni

I mostly sketch for my own pleasure now.

I still have some paintings to sell.

I am going to endeavour to photograph work I have kept to enable prints to be for sale here.

I will also be selling prints of my favourite sketches.

Some of my work is available as cards, prints, phone cases, bags, t-shirts, mugs, cushions and other ‘stuff’ at Redbubble.com

I do consider commissions - but really I’m retired.

I am showing about 25 pieces of my work relating to bogland and other Irish landscape at the Seamus Ennis Centre in Naul (north Dublin) it's a lovely little place with a fantastic cafe! so well worth a visit. Open until 29th March. The officialopening , witha demonstration by me! is at 3p.m on 1st. February, 2015.

Through the month of November I have taken up residence at Project24 on the seafront in Bangor (Northern Ireland) I'm in the green pod with lots of work on display; framed, unframed and cards. I shall be arranging 'sketch crawls' from the pod - weather conditions permitting! although like 'Mr. Turner' we should really take on the challange and go out and paint no matter what! there are even some masts we could be strapped to across the road in the marina! It makes such a change not to be working all alone at the pods there are 4 other artists and 6 crafts people. Each Saturday there will be a 'craft fair' so come along and buy some art for christmas.

I am currently framing work for another mini show at the Old Post Office, Lisbane, again it will follow my popular themes of cottages and chickens - and a few sheep and the odd dog thrown in for good measure. I have just delivered work to Gallery 1608 in Bushmills and I'm getting myself organised with work for my other galleries - but you will always find a painting or 2 with Danny at the Gracehill Gallery in Ballymena and he also keeps a selection of pieces unframed which if you ask him nicely he'll show you them and frame to your specification. Also I shall be a resident artist in one of the art pods in Bangor in November - what colour will I be?? Christmas will be coming so I must get the fairy lights out. I'm thinking of painting something quite big when I'm there to make the most of the space. So all in all it's an exciting and busy time.

The end of April and into May is going to be a busy time regarding art club shows and other group events, charity exhibitions and another solo showing of 'What is Left Behind'. Will post dates and venues in the coming weeks. Currently I have work on show at Gallery 1608, Bushmills, the Gracehill Gallery, Ballymena, the Yard Gallery, Comber, the Marine Court Hotel, Bangor - all in Northern Ireland. Any other galleries wanting a new gallery artist here or there - for example, Herault or Morbihan France -  I would love to hear from you!

My collection of work entitled 'What is Left Behind' is showing in Lisburn Library, gallery spaces 1 and 2 from 4th -27th Frebruary. This body of work was initiated by my travel to the north coast of Ireland to visit my Grandparents' former home which housed my Grandfather's barbershop. The topograghy of the area is flat and boggy, I used Seamus Heaney's 'Bogland' poem as a point of inspiration and these expressive pieces form the first half of the show. The second gallery shows work that looks at my Grandfather's life and times as a barber, his environment, my memories and what was held within.

This year I have had solo shows in Belfast, Dublin and locally at the Old Post Office in Comber. Group exhibitions with Ards Art Collective and Art Alfresco. My work has been selected and shown in Derry/Londonderry the U.K city of Culture and one of my flag paintings was blown up (in size) to be displayed on a huge billboard as part of 'Art on the Eastside' in Belfast. So all in all it hasn't been a bad year!
I can be followed on Face Book at 'Artistic Ramblings' were I post finished work, sketchbook pages and exhibition news.

As the year draws to a close I'm either doing my spring cleaning very late or very early? I have deleted some work and added other pieces. My work has been moving away from landscapes during the past couple of years, even though I try to discipline myself to keep my portfolio coherent it just isn't going to happen! I enjoy painting a variety of subjects in a variety of ways, but I do feel I have a recognisable style in the application of media which is intuitive and joyous (when a painting is going well).
My current work is; memory based expressionist pieces, loose landscapes (often featuring dwellings), animals/birds, and a return to out and out abstract work after several years and this is surprisingly a very, very difficult genre to paint.