Inside her cottage studio, Paige Barnes works with acrylic paint to create colorful canvases that harmonize structure with intuition.
Her backyard workshop is lined by windows that frame an open yard. Dense Central Oregon trees and neighboring rooftops allow Barnes to keep bearings on her surroundings. After more than 20 years in Bend, the OSU-Cascades graduate and mother of three embraced life as a full-time artist just eight years ago. Since then, her pieces—donated, commissioned and displayed throughout Bend—have brought abstract beauty to the community.
Barnes initially studied photography in college, but after taking a one-off painting class, she found it more fun—it satisfied something she craved creatively. “Painting was gratifying and instant. I didn’t have to think so hard about manipulating a camera. My mind just moves quicker than photography requires,” Barnes said.
Inspiration is found everywhere for Barnes, but particularly in the landscapes surrounding her—the boulders along the Deschutes River Trail, the high desert terrain and the lush greenery she occasionally revisits in the Willamette Valley where she grew up. These elements inform her compositions, although they don’t appear literally on the canvas. Barnes’ paintings result from what she observes and become something cohesive but abstract, no longer directly a part of nature.
Music also plays a meaningful role in her creative process. Her recent taste for listening to classical melodies while painting has translated to more playful pieces.
Each day in the studio begins with what Barnes calls “mindless sketching,” a warm-up exercise where she draws continuously for about 10 minutes to ground herself. From there, Barnes pivots to her easel, layering paint, pen lines and bold figures, with no preconceived direction of where she wants to take her painting. She typically works on two canvases at a time, allowing ideas and techniques to flow between them. One canvas may serve as the primary focus, while the other becomes an outlet for experiments—a space to clean brushes, test colors and try new techniques. Over time, even these experimental works take on a life of their own.
When frustration inevitably arises on her canvas, Barnes embraces it as a catalyst for transformation. She paints over tight or restrictive elements and leaves traces of earlier layers to build dimension and contrast. “I’m constantly finding the edge, going over it, then finding my way back,” Barnes said. “If I don’t push my work over the edge, then it’s never done.”
When Barnes finishes a piece, she feels deep, even if fleeting, satisfaction that reminds her, “This is why I’m here.” And then she starts all over again.
Barnes’ collaboration with Inspire Bend, the nonprofit branch of retailer furnish., has brought beauty and comfort to community spaces. One of her contributed works, created for the Bear Creek Elementary School teachers’ lounge, moved one teacher to tears with gratitude.
Barnes continues to look forward to the future, when she hopes to work on large, unstretched canvases spanning more than 6 feet in size. For now, she is focusing on consistency in her painting practice, with a goal of three two-hour painting sessions each day.
“I’m not worried about how far I go or how big of a name I have,” Barnes said. “I just want to keep going. I want to be one of those artists still making art at 95.”
See more at paigebarnesart.com and
@paigebarnesart. See more about our local artist community, here.
