We recently connected with Elizabeth Barlow and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

A few years ago, I was asked to create a painting for a vineyard home in Sonoma. The homeowner and his wife lost their home in the 2017 Wine Country fires, barely escaping with their lives. Everything on the property was destroyed and the only things that survived were the vines and one rose bush. Even more tragedy followed when the wife died that year. But then something miraculous happened. That single rose bush began to bloom gloriously. The homeowner decided to build a new house on the same site and asked me to create a 6-foot painting of that rose bush for the new home. I took hundreds of photos of the roses to use as references, and then back in my studio created a painting that captured the strength and resilience of this beautiful life force. I titled the painting “The Phoenix Rose” because it literally rose out of the ashes. I believe that flowers lure us in with their beauty and then offer powerful lessons of hope, renewal and strength within seeming fragility.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I discovered beauty early. My late father was a noted artist and my mother is a talented gardener, so I grew up surrounded by paintings and flowers (in hindsight it seems inevitable that I would paint flowers). After several detours in the performing arts, I found my way back to my early love of drawing and painting and devoted myself full-time to painting. For many years, I lived in San Francisco, and my art reflected the chic, sophisticated urban life around me.

Then in 2016, we moved to this seaside town, and my world shifted from a bustling, vibrant city life to a world of forests, sea mists and flowers EVERYWHERE. I instantly felt an intense longing to create portraits of the flowers around me and so began my Flora Portraits series. In San Francisco, the flowers asked me to paint them in whispers. But here, in our coastal village, their voices became a grand chorus of beauty. Painting flowers has transformed my art practice and my life.

Now I spend my days in the company of flowers — gathering them, photographing them for references, writing about them in my art journals and social media and painting them. They are symbols of beauty, yes, but they are also messengers. They will tell us stories about the power of quiet strength, of hope, grace, resilience and renewal. They can be our teachers and transform our lives, if we will only listen.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

People often ask questions about my art practice such as “It must be so much FUN to be an artist!” Or, “You are so disciplined — why do you work so hard?” Or, “Where do you get your ideas?”

I LOVE these questions, because they are asked with genuine curiosity and give me the opportunity to share what being an artist is really like.

So, here are my answers:

1. No, it isn’t “FUN” being an artist. It is stimulating, enlightening, challenging and sometimes exhausting. (Fun is enjoying cocktails with my husband and friends on a Friday night). Being an artist is a calling. I have an intense longing to bring my work into being and it is my job to show up every day and be of service to the art.

2. I am not disciplined, I am devoted. (Being disciplined is going to the gym, taking vitamins and paying one’s bills.) I am devoted to my art and work every day in order to grow in skill and keep the creativity flowing. Like a ballet dancer or musician who practices every day, I am at the easel every day because the revelations come by getting to work regularly with an attitude of sacred devotion.

3. I don’t “get my ideas”, they find me! Ideas come to me by paying attention to beauty. When we allow ourselves to be tempted by beauty, we will stop and gaze at the flower (or cloud formation or sunset). And in that pause, we will breathe more slowly and become truly present to the world around us. When we stop for beauty, we build our awareness “muscle” and seeing beauty becomes easier. Suddenly, it is everywhere around us and our days are suffused with an infinite capacity for wonder. Beauty awakens me from the deep sleep of “doing” (to-do’s, shoulds, etc.) into the miraculous world of being.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love this question! By far, the most rewarding part of being an artist is connecting. I love having studio visits, whether from fellow artists, curators or collectors. I will pour us a cup of tea or glass of wine, then we will sit and talk about my art and practice, and then our conversation will meander and weave a thread that connects us. An important part of my practice is commissions and I’ve had the opportunity to create paintings for amazing people and beautiful spaces. It’s truly a collaboration and I love the opportunity to learn how the collector wants their painting to make them feel (is it serene, joyful, calm, etc.). And then there are exhibitions — this is where people can see my work “in situ” and I can engage with them as they are interacting with the work. Some people shyly tell me what they feel about my work and others passionately share their opinions and thoughts. I love ALL these interactions — they weave a huge tapestry of people’s ideas, questions, and feelings about art and beauty. And what could be more wonderful than that?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elizabethbarlowart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethbarlowartist/

Image Credits
Rick Pharaoh Rick Forschino