Bob Barker – One of the UK’s best selling artist.

Bob Barker – Artist Information:

Before I squeeze the first drop of oil onto my palette I sit and gaze at the blank canvas. Sometimes for quite a while. With music always playing in the background I visualise the composition. Change the colour of the sky, nudge buildings into new location. Make it rain and many more combinations until I am happy with how the work is going to look. I then make a few very quick lines on the canvas, just to set the scene, because by now I am impatient to get some paint on the canvas.

I do not have a set way of creating a piece as I love experimenting with the way oil paint can be applied. But I usually start with the sky as this establishes the mood and the all important light for the rest of the picture. As I enter the artistic time warp where hours seem to fly by in seconds. I tend to loosen up and paint quite quickly, getting the majority of the picture done in one sitting.

When the initial painting is dry I usually re-work it by applying glazes (these are thin washes of oil paint which allow the colour of the under-painting to show through) either to the whole canvas or to individual areas, thus creating more intense contrasts which in turn achieves a more luminous quality and greater depth to the piece.

This is now the time to put my signature on the bottom to stop me from over-working the painting. Sometimes knowing when to stop and say ‘this one is finished’ is as important as the starting process.

We have a selection of Bob Barker Original Painting & Prints for Sale