Who am I and what do I do?

Hi. I live in Northern Ohio near the Lake Erie shore with my husband, close to our three adult daughters, all married with children. I paint. I write. I exchange ideas with others of like-mind. And I’m in love with my family…

My interest in all things art-related goes back to my little girl days of Crayola crayons, kid-safe scissors and paste, and all the scrap paper I could find. I remember loving the splashes of color in my world and how pretty everything looked when the sun was low in the sky, making patterns on houses and tree trunks.

When someone asked me my favorite color, I said yes. (My mom used to tell people my favorite was red, but I loved them all!)

Today I sketch to learn to see better, and I paint for story. Stories are everywhere and can be found just by looking. I’ve loved watching people for as long as I can remember. There’s drama in all of us, and it shows when we are not conscious of it, but simply living it. As artists we paint the stories that go beyond words.

I’ve used pastel pencils and oils and watercolors, acrylics to paint staging sets and wall murals, pen and ink, and most recently, liquid pencils (with a brush) and pixel pigments, using Corel Painter X with a Wacom Tablet and Pen.

I have shown and sold my work locally, as well as in galleries online, and have won awards, both locally and online. I help moderate one of the digital art forums I participate in, selecting and writing up short interviews for the monthly featured artists.

I have published tutorials using Corel Painter, which are available from my blog.

You can find my painting galleries here.

Thank you for stopping by. Please feel free to leave comments on my posts.

Barbara Hartsook.