STEVEN BARRETT

Paint markers, Pens  & Acrylics

Website: E-mail: sbarre[at]shentel[dot]net

Move your cursor over any image to see an enlargement.

I was born in 1949 in a small mill town in the foothills of northwestern South Carolina.  I have lived in the South my entire life and experienced many of its joys and sorrows.  My Southern heritage has profoundly shaped my life and my art.

Since 2004 my home has been in the Shenandoah Valley near the town of Toms Brook where I live with my wife Betty, my two children Lucy and Austin, seven dogs, a horse, and a bird.  In June of 2009 I retired from my job as a network analyst with the Fairfax County Government after 28 years of service.  This has allowed me to pursue art full time.

I am mostly self-taught with the exception of a couple of years of high school art classes, a few drawing and design classes at Brevard Community College in Florida, a drawing class at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA, and a lot of reading.  I've found it important to seek out real-life experiences as well.  Such as - gallery/museum exhibits, visits to artist's studios, and just generally observing the goings-on around me.

Although my latest work may be quirky and cartoonish, I take it very seriously.  It comes from my psyche and its accumulation of thoughts and life experiences.  The pictures aren't entirely deliberate.  They are the result of a meditative process followed by a release of energetic movement -- something akin to psychic automatism. I use paint markers and pens because they allow the most freedom of creative flow.  I also work in acrylics on a variety of surfaces.

Some folks have said that they find a pronounced narrative in my pictures.  This makes me happy because I do as well.  I hope my work brings an occasional smile or provokes a thought.

Thank you for looking.