Paintings by Barbara Hege Mercer • Edmonds Frame Design & Atelier

From The Artist

Read more about Barbara
The Story of an Artist.

An IDEA: A spark of fire that is burning bright, loud and clear. As a spark an idea may die, or it may nourish a raging conflagration. It may also smolder in the deep, verdant recesses of the mind where ideas are integrated into a panorama of impressions of nature. Those impressions become an artist’s kaleidoscope of sounds like music, of movements like dance, of plants and trees, of water and wind, of color and sun, of birds and animals, of fishes and intelligence, of love and zest for life.

From an artist’s kaleidoscope I intend to separate out conflicts among human emotions prevalent in our new-found intellectual poverty, world economy laced with the effects of twentieth-century wars, and to instill those conflicts on a canvas world.

When beginning the creation of a canvas world, I attempt to control its realm. Yet, as the realm develops, it questions challenges, demands; it causes doubt in me. Using the techniques of art, such as color fields, push-pull, reflected images, I roughly sketch that world. But then it takes over; from then on it controls my brush; it becomes a living, vibrant world, a living canvas.

The canvas world is a world of happenings, of conflicting human emotions. And I am part of the happenings and conflicts for I choose which are to be juxtaposed and contrasted. Since my own emotions are deeply immersed in and empathetic with the human emotions displayed, the final portrayal of the arresting conflicts is beyond my control. The living canvas controls the final display.

Wielding its control, the living canvas takes nature, which inspired me, and moves it away into the background. Then, through evocative simplification and clarification, the canvas ties human emotional conflicts to the fragileness and strength, to the rhythm and balance, to the visible and hidden beauties of nature.

Finally, as with nature, I expect my living canvases to transcend the display of visual stimuli. I expect them to uncover those portions of life which contain strong emotions, natural sights and sounds, and life’s brilliance in both darkness and light.

Oil on Canvas

Through evocative simplification and clarification, the canvas ties human emotional conflicts to the fragileness and strength, to the rhythm and balance, to the visible and hidden beauties of nature.