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Barbara McLain           
Barbara McLain           
    Portfolios
      ABSTRACTED FIGURE
      GO FIGURE: Conversations From the Wall
      THE VULNERABLE HUMAN
      LIBERATION
      PYRAMID SERIES
    About
      ARTIST STATEMENT
      UPCOMING SHOWS
      RESUME
      AWARDS, PUBLICATIONS, TEACHING
    Books
      ART BOOKS
    Contact
      Contact Information
ARTIST STATEMENT
Painting is a way for me to explore the human spirit in its journey toward truth. From my earliest efforts portraying the wounded soul, to a series exposing  the vulnerable human, my work emphasizes figurative expression. This emphasis is a way of connecting with the deepest truth of who we are as humans.  My goal is to express this in visual form in a way that invokes strong feelings in the viewer, which then reveals to you something about yourself that you were not previously fully aware of. This moves you, the viewer, toward recognition of your own humanity, from joy and freedom to sadness and compassion, becoming a transformative touchstone.

For example, the painting "September Sadness" reveals contradictory images of a young healthy woman, but a woman  carrying the weight of much sadness in the world right now. Before I painted the image, I was drawn to the gesture but was not acutely aware of the depth of my own sadness. Thus my paintings can trigger something, some touchstone that breathes new life into the viewer's being.