Barbara Farren, CSPWC

Barbara has been painting seriously since graduating from the Ontario College of Art, Toronto, in the early 70’s.

Having grown up on a farm near London, Ontario, Barbara has a great love of the outdoors. Being surrounded by farm animals, pasture and woodlands, gave her a deep connection to land and sky. Her first greatest influence was Andrew Wyeth. His landscapes were so much like home to her, she saw his paintings everywhere she looked.

Although she had wanted to study architecture, her natural skills at drawing at an early age coupled with her lack of sufficient math skills, made it fairly apparent Art School was where she belonged. In hindsight, Illustration was her forte, and she wishes she had chosen Commercial Art. Instead she chose Painting and Drawing and hence began the struggle to be a realist in a world besotted by the Abstract.

For a realist painter, going against the grain to study realism in school, where everything was supposed to be stripes, dots, hard-edged shapes, etc., the Impressionists became who you wanted to emulate, because at least they were more modern realists!

And simply because of the joy and happiness their paintings evoked. Theirs was a real Celebration of Life, portraying all levels of Society. She believes that is why their paintings speak to so many people and during those school years, that is how she wanted to paint.

To date, she has lived in several towns and cities, but finds Montreal suits her spirit.
Presently, she lives in Hudson, Quebec, a small village picturesquely situated on the banks of the Ottawa River, just 25 miles from Montreal. An area of much beauty and character, still surrounded by small farms and villages.

Many subjects continue to capture her interest. and she has painted outdoors much of her life, summer and winter. In fact, she didn’t even have a studio for the longest time, just carrying her board, paper and watercolours to locations. In the last few years, she has been drawn to do more figurative and portrait work, with particular attention to First Nation peoples at their Pow Wows. She finds their costuming and dances extremely beautiful. She has sincere concern for the welfare of these unique people.

2015 Robert Liberace, Traditional Anatomical Drawing, Vermont
2014 Richard Belanger, Tonal Drawing and Sketching, Quebec
2011 Burton Siilverman, Oil and Watercolor Figures, New York
2010 Daniel Gerhartz, Oil Portrait, California
2010 Stephen Scott Young, Watercolour Portrait, California and Anita West, Oil Landscape, Vermont
2002 John Michael Angel Studio, Toronto, Ontario
2001 Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy
1967-1971 Ontario College of Art, BFA, Toronto, Canada

2014 Signature Member of Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour
2009 Laumeister Exhibition, Bennington Center for the Arts,
Vermont
2009 Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy, Sarasota, florida
2005 Artist Residency, Pouch Cove Foundation, Newfoundland,
Canada
2008 Award of Merit, Tarpon Springs Art Festival, Florida
1976 Canada Council Art Bank Collection
1976 Finalist, English Biennial Drawing Competition, UK

1972 Watercolour at York Summer Session, Toronto
1992 Foundation of Drawing, Hudson, Quebec

2016 Water Reflections, March, Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery, Ontario
2016 International Watercolour Society Canada Biennale, July 5 to 30, Vancouver, Canada
2015 “Open Water” International, C.S.P.W.C.Halifax, Canada
2015 Open Studio Event Tour, Hudson, Quebec
2013 “Open Water”, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour International Exhibition, Calgary
2012,2013 Exhibitions with ArtistesHudsonArtists, Hudson, Quebec
2012 “Open Water”, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, Toronto
2012 Bennington Center for the Arts Laumeister Exhibition, Vermont
2011 Concours national de peinture, juried exhibition, Baie-Saint-Paul,
Charlevoix,QC
2011 Group Show, Vermont Artisan Designs, Brattleboro, Vermont
2009, 2010 Bennington Center for the Arts Juried Exhibitions, Vermont
2009 “Open Water” Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour Exhibition, Alberta
2006 to 2010 New York Art Expo, Toronto Art Expo, FIMA Montreal, Philadelphia, and other Festivals in U.S. and Canada
2006 to 2009 New York Art Expo, Toronto Art Expo, FIMA and other Festivals in the U.S. and Canada
2005 “Double Feature”, Avenue Art Gallery, Montreal Quebec (2-person show)
2005 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Group Exhibition Beaux Arts David Astrof, Montreal, Quebec
2004 Fall Group Show”, Avenue Art Gallery, Montreal, Quebec
2003&2004 Group Exhibition Beaux Arts David Astrof, Montreal, Quebec
1995 *Gallery Adrienne Robert, Hudson, Quebec
1993 Joined Sandy Snelgrove Gallery, London, Ontario
1992 Joined Schieder & Associates Gallery, Toronto (Group Show)
1979 Merton Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1977&1978 Group Shows, Toronto
1976 Merton Gallery, Toronto (3-person show)
1975 “Through the Looking Glass Towards a New Reality” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
1974 Merton Gallery, Toronto (2-person show)

Watercolour: Andrew Weyth, Winslow Homer, Anders Zorn, Joseph Zbukvic, Charles Reid
Oils: the Impressionists, Degas, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Ray Harris-Ching, Richard Schmid, Burton Silverman and many others of course.

animals, oil and watercolor, impressionistic realism, portraits and figures, landscapes, clotheslines, native,color