ABOUT
THE ARTIST
Barb Forrest
I paint landscapes
and "altered landscapes" primarily in watercolor.
My landscapes reflect my passion for the Pacific Northwest;
in my altered landscapes, I delve deeper into my subject with
another layer of related vision.
I grew up in the St.
Louis area and from there lived in Texas and Canada before finally
settling in Oregon. One of my earliest memories is sketching
a landscape while on a visit to my grandparents in West Virginia.
I took art classes and painted for several years while pursuing
a career as a clinical audiologist before becoming a full time
artist in 1996. I love the outdoors and the Pacific Northwest
is the perfect place to find a variety of inspirations, from
the rugged coastline to the rolling hills of the Willamette
valley, to the mountain and high desert landscapes to which
I am so drawn.
I generally begin
with a photograph I have taken. Sometimes this required some
creative hiking, climbing and exploring to get the right scene.
I make some small conceptual sketches of my idea and then a
very rough sketch on watercolor paper. By not being restricted
with a detailed sketch, I am able to change and develop the
painting as I progress.
I print my own reproductions,
which allows me to control every aspect of the process and to
ensure high quality and precise color matching.
